Siarhiej Laviejkin

A professional soldier, sergeant. A resident of a military settlment in Polotsk, Vitebsk district. Discharged from the service after a series of detentions by the police in 1998-1999 for removing  state flag from official buildings of the city of Polotsk.

Chronicle of repression 

Siarhiei Laviejkin was arrested on  10 March 1999 along with two other residents of Polotsk, Anatol Blizniecov and Aleh Kajdov. They removed several flags from the state buildings in protest against the ban on using white-red-white national flag. Initially, all three were detained, but they were soon released. However, on 10 April 1999, all three men were arrested and beaten. The authorities initiated the criminal case against them. Laviejkin, Blizniecov and Kajdov  were accused of  removing on 9 April 1998 red and green state flag from buildings of  the Polotsk’s District and Municipal Committees. They were accused of deliberate vandalism and they admitted that they  removed the flags, explaining that they did so in protest and following their sense of justice. They avowed that white-red-white flag is a real symbol of Belarus.

The criminal case was examined by the military court of Vitebsk in July 1999. Siarhiei Laviejkin was sentenced under the article 186, part 2 (desecrating state symbols), and fined in the amount of 200 million rubles – which at that time was the equivalent of about $450. He was degraded to the rank of private.

Cases, concerning this person:

Other political prisoners

  • Sviatoslav Baranovich
  • Zmicer Kasparovich
  • Slavomir Adamovich
  • Ivan Shyla
  • Alaksiej Yanusheuski