Benes Ayo
{{Short description|Russian National Bolshevik (born 1979)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Benes Ayo
| native_name = Бенес Айо
| native_name_lang = ru
| image = Бенес Айо.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Ayo in 2020
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|6|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = Rēzekne, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
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| resting_place_coordinates =
| citizenship = {{ubl|Latvia (until 2023)|Russia (since 2022)}}
| education =
| alma_mater = {{ubl|University of Latvia (BSc)|Birkbeck, University of London (MMSc)}}
| occupation = Political activist
| years_active =
| employer =
| organization =
| known_for = National Bolshevik activism
| notable_works =
| style =
| party = The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov
| otherparty = {{plainlist|
- National Bolshevik Party
(1998–2007) - Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)
(in the United Kingdom, from {{circa}} 2006) - Communist Party of the Russian Federation
(from {{circa}} 2021)
}}
| movement =
| allegiance = {{flag|Russia}}
- {{flag|Donetsk People's Republic}}
- {{flag|Luhansk People's Republic}}
| branch = Interbrigades
| branch_label =
| serviceyears = 2014
2015–present
| serviceyears_label =
| rank =
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| servicenumber =
| unit =
| commands =
| battles = {{tree list}}
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
- Annexation of Crimea
- War in Donbas
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
{{tree list/end}}
| battles_label =
| boards =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
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| website =
| footnotes =
| nickname = Black Lenin
}}
Benes Khristoferovich Ayo ({{langx|ru|Бенес Христоферович Айо}}, {{langx|lv|Beness Aijo}}; born 8 June 1979), also known by his nickname "Black Lenin"{{Cite book |title= Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine Explained from Within |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRRDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 |first=Anna |last= Matveeva |year= 2017 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1498-5432-3-1 |page=231 |quote=Black Lenin (Aijo Beness), a Latvian citizen, a son of a Russian mother and a Ugandan father, and a member of Leftist Drugaya Rossia party in Russia and the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist){{nbsp}}...}} ({{langx|ru|Чёрный Ленин|links=no}}), is a Latvian-born Russian political activist and soldier. He has been active in the National Bolshevik movement since 1998 and has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for his political activities in various countries.[http://rus.delfi.lv/archive/ajo-benes-magistr-biologii-i-professor-nbp.d?id=10715617 Айо Бенес — магистр биологии и профессор НБП][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZWualJxyQI Геополитика с Айо Бенесом. Часть 1]
Born in the city of Rēzekne to a Russian mother and a Ugandan father, Ayo spent most of his early life in Latvia before moving to the United Kingdom to pursue his master's degree at Birkbeck College, University of London. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist) during his time in London and participated in many of the party's demonstrations.
In 2014, Ayo travelled to Crimea to support the Russian annexation of the peninsula. He later participated in pro-Russian demonstrations in the Donbas before being arrested by Ukrainian authorities and deported to Latvia. Ayo fled Latvia in 2015 despite being under criminal investigation and police surveillance. He eventually made his way to the Luhansk People's Republic, where he joined The Other Russia's paramilitary group, the Interbrigades. He later received a passport from the Donetsk People's Republic, which he used to enter Russia in early 2020. The Russian government granted Ayo political asylum in October 2020 and Russian citizenship in December 2022. The Latvian government revoked Ayo's Latvian citizenship in response to the latter.
Biography
=Early life and activism=
Beness Khristoferovich Ayo was born in Rēzekne on 8 June 1979 to a Ugandan father and a Russian mother. He studied biology at the University of Latvia.[http://www.d-pils.lv/news/20548 Айо Бенес — магистр биологии и профессор НБП] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405023516/http://www.d-pils.lv/news/20548 |date=5 April 2014 }}. D-pils.lv (23 March 2005). Retrieved on 1 May 2014. He is an Orthodox Old Believer.{{cite web |last=Collier |first=Mike |url=https://eurasianet.org/latvia-neo-bolshevik-vexes-government |title=Latvia: Neo-Bolshevik Vexes Government |date=28 August 2014 |publisher=Eurasianet |quote=I pray. I go to church, maybe not as often as I should but I am a Christian, an Orthodox Old Believer.|accessdate=28 August 2014}}
On 7 May 2005, Ayo was arrested for setting off smoke bombs during the visit of George W. Bush to Latvia.{{cite web |last=Collier |first=Mike |url=https://eurasianet.org/latvia-neo-bolshevik-vexes-government |title=Latvia: Neo-Bolshevik Vexes Government |date=28 August 2014 |publisher=Eurasianet |accessdate=28 August 2014}} Later that year, Ayo was arrested and sentenced to 9 months in prison for calling for the overthrow of Latvia's political system.[http://www.delfi.lv/news/national/criminal/noraida-benesa-aijo-lieta-iesniegto-kasaciju.d?id=12962492 Noraida Benesa Aijo lietā iesniegto kasāciju]. Delfi.lv (5 December 2005). Retrieved on 1 May 2014. In prison, Ayo subsequently went on a hunger strike that lasted for 27 days until his health deteriorated enough to require hospitalisation.{{cite news |url=http://www.delfi.lv/news/national/politics/beness-aijo-piesaka-badastreiku.d?id=12964760 |title=Beness Aijo goes on a hunger strike |date=5 December 2005 |publisher=Delfi |accessdate=1 May 2014 |language=Latvian}}{{cite news |url=https://www.delfi.lv/news/national/politics/beness-aijo-partraucis-badastreiku.d?id=13224636 |title=Beness Aijo has ended the hunger strike |date=5 January 2006 |publisher=Delfi |accessdate=1 May 2014 |language=Latvian}} After spending five and a half months in jail, his security measure was changed from imprisonment to police surveillance at Ayo's request, when he cited his diabetes.{{cite news |url=http://www.delfi.lv/news/national/politics/no-apcietinajuma-izlaists-beness-aijo.d?id=15009745 |title=Beness Aijo released from imprisonment |date=20 July 2006 |publisher=Delfi |accessdate=1 May 2014 |language=Latvian}}{{cite news |url=http://rus.tvnet.lv/novosti/politika/17774-bjenjes_ayo_kogda_ja_doshjel_do_45_kg_mjenja_prishlos_vipustit |title=Benes Ayo: After my weight went down to 45 kg, they had to let me out |date=21 July 2006 |publisher=TVNet |accessdate=1 May 2014 |language=Russian}}
Thereafter, Ayo left Latvia and moved to London in the United Kingdom. He studied Medical Microbiology at the University of London, Birkbeck. Later in London, Ayo worked as a construction worker at the Heathrow Terminal 2.{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Simon |last2=Cortbus |first2=Colin |last3=Drake |first3=Matthew |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/malaysia-airlines-crash-dangerous-british-3885795 |title=Malaysia Airlines Crash: 'Dangerous' British student with Putin links is leading Russian rebel in Ukraine |date=19 July 2014 |newspaper=Mirror |accessdate=3 August 2014}} He played an active role in political rallies in the UK, where he was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist).{{cite news |last=Collier |first=Mike |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/features/features/an-unlikely-revolutionary-beness-aijo.a93076/ |title=An Unlikely Revolutionary: Beness Aijo |quote=I am a member of the Marxist Leninist Communist party of Great Britain and our aim is socialism in Britain and elsewhere. |date=31 July 2014 |accessdate=21 January 2022}}
From May–June 2013 he was in Palestine, where he took part in actions against the Israeli government. While in Palestine Ayo received medical training in the field.[http://ura.ru/content/svrd/14-03-2014/articles/1036261563.html An interview with Aijo Beness]
On 14 September 2013, in Moscow, Ayo participated in the congress of the political party The Other Russia.[http://rus.delfi.lv/news/daily/latvia/ajo-benes-stal-delegatom-sezda-partii-limonova-ot-latvii-britanii-i-palestiny.d?id=43664227 Айо Бенес стал делегатом съезда партии Лимонова от Латвии, Британии и Палестины]. Rus.delfi.lv (18 September 2013). Retrieved on 1 May 2014. On 19 November 2013, Ayo participated in London in a direct action in memory of Aleksandr Dolmatov.[http://nvdaily.ru/info/14306.html Активисты «Другой России» забросали дымовыми шашками посольство Голландии в Лондоне]. Nvdaily.ru (20 November 2013). Retrieved on 1 May 2014. On 29 November 2013, he organized in The Hague further direct action in memory of Dolmatov. Beness was arrested[http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/o_chelysheva/1216275-echo/ Айо Бенес или о том как "летучего голландца" судили в Гааге]. Echo.msk.ru (17 October 2011). Retrieved on 1 May 2014.[http://hroniki.info/?page=news&id=15164 Требовавший расследовать смерть Александра Долматова нацбол Бенес Айо арестован в Нидерландах] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502001556/http://hroniki.info/?page=news&id=15164 |date=2 May 2014 }}. Hroniki.info. 1 December 2013.[http://newsland.com/news/detail/id/1288109/ Голландия передумала судить другоросса Бенеса Айо за терроризм]. Newsland.com (27 April 2014). Retrieved on 1 May 2014. and spent six weeks in a Dutch prison.[http://drugoros.ru/news/3/3922.html Бенес Айо освободился из голландской тюрьмы] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502005614/http://drugoros.ru/news/3/3922.html |date=2 May 2014 }}. Drugoros.ru. 10 January 2014.
= Involvement in pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine =
Ayo departed for Crimea in 2014. He was arrested in Donetsk on 1 April 2014 for "preparation of an armed coup to overthrow the government and to undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine"[http://news2night.com/en/news/portal-v-donetske-arestovan-ajo-benes#.UzxCClfcxHU In Donetsk arrested Ayo Benes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608070443/http://news2night.com/en/news/portal-v-donetske-arestovan-ajo-benes#.UzxCClfcxHU |date=8 June 2014 }}. News2Night. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.[https://news.pn/en/public/99968 Extremists from the Crimea get over to Donetsk: on meeting for Yanukovych Aksenov's black "fighter"]. News.pn (22 March 2014). Retrieved on 1 May 2014. and deported to the United Kingdom, where Ayo took part of demonstrations for a couple of weeks.{{cite news |last=Collier |first=Mike |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/features/features/an-unlikely-revolutionary-beness-aijo.a93076/ |title=An Unlikely Revolutionary: Beness Aijo |date=31 July 2014 |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |accessdate=3 August 2014}}
In May 2014, despite the ban from entering the country for three years, Ayo attempted to cross into Ukraine together with two more activists. He was detained by the Ukrainian Border Guard, and deported to Latvia, where he was detained by the Security Police and the State Police at Riga Airport.{{cite news |url=http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/34856/#.U4yrK3aeuuY |title=Bolshevik Aijo ordered locked up |date=19 May 2014 |newspaper=The Baltic Times |accessdate=1 May 2014}} Ayo made claims he had been tortured and beaten by the Ukrainian National Guard.
On 16 May 2014, the Riga Central District Court ordered Ayo taken into custody and the Security Police commenced criminal prosecution for incitement to violently overthrow the government of Latvia, to change the political system, and to liquidate Latvian national independence. On the night to 30 May petards and smoke grenades were thrown at the Latvian general consulate in St. Petersburg by members of The Other Russia party, who set up a Soviet flag on the façade of the building, distributed pamphlets and demanded release of Ayo.{{cite news|url=https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/34899/|title='Other Russia' movement hooligans attack Latvian consulate|date=30 May 2014|newspaper=The Baltic Times|accessdate=2 June 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://bnn-news.com/national-bolshevik-beness-aijos-supporters-attack-latvian-general-consulate-russia-114440|title=National Bolshevik Aijo Beness' supporters attack Latvian general consulate in Russia|date=30 May 2014|publisher=Baltic News Network|accessdate=2 June 2014}}
Ayo has participated in several demonstrations in Riga since, including the 15 August demonstration against Latvia's foreign policy towards Russia and to call for the dismissal of Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs.{{cite news|url=http://www.baltic-course.com/eng2/legislation/?doc=95119|title=Around 50 demonstrators outside Foreign Ministry in Riga demand Rinkevics' resignation|date=15 August 2014|publisher=The Baltic Course|accessdate=15 August 2014}}{{cite news |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/society/radical-russians-rally-against-foreign-policy.a94770/ |title=Radical Russians rally against foreign policy |date=15 August 2014 |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |accessdate=15 August 2014}}
In early 2015, with an ongoing criminal case and while being under police surveillance Ayo fled Latvia by hitch-hiking to Tallinn, where he took a ferry to Finland and then traveled to Russia by bus, eventually arriving in Eastern Ukraine. There he joined the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic{{cite news |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/politics/bolshevik-renegade-runs-to-lugansk-defies-arrest.a113474/ |title=Bolshevik renegade runs to Lugansk, defies arrest |date=12 January 2015 |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |accessdate=5 February 2015}} in what he described as "military-political work", i.e., writing articles for a local newspaper,{{cite news|url=https://bnn-news.com/beness-aijo-flees-latvia-means-hitch-hiking-123983|title=Beness Aijo flees Latvia by means of hitch-hiking|date=12 January 2015|publisher=Baltic News Network|agency=LETA|accessdate=5 February 2015}} but he also expressed a desire to undergo training and sign up for active service.{{cite news|url=https://bnn-news.com/beness-aijo-boasts-promotion-ranks-separatists-donbass-129944|title=Beness Aijo boasts his promotion in the ranks of separatists in Donbass|date=5 June 2015|publisher=Baltic News Network|accessdate=11 June 2015}} Riga Central District Court subsequently launched a manhunt for Ayo.{{cite news|url=https://bnn-news.com/latvian-authorities-launch-manhunt-national-bolshevik-beness-aijo-125033|title=Latvian authorities launch manhunt for National Bolshevik Beness Aijo|date=4 February 2015|publisher=Baltic News Network|accessdate=5 February 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/politics/aijo-on-the-lam-for-anti-latvia-activism.a116502/ |title=Aijo on the lam for anti-Latvia activism |date=4 February 2016 |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |accessdate=5 February 2015}}
Ayo later reported taking part in pro-Russian operations in Debaltseve and near Stanytsia Luhanska among other places and being promoted to sergeant, going from a gunner on an artillery howitzer to a member of a motorized infantry brigade.{{cite news|url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/society/beness-aijo-on-the-front-line-in-ukraine.a119838/|title=Beness Aijo 'on the front line' in Ukraine|date=2 March 2015|publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia|accessdate=3 September 2015}} In the middle of April 2019, Ayo was declared a suspect by the Latvia's State Security Service in a case regarding illegal participation in the pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine.{{cite news|url=https://bnn-news.com/national-bolshevik-beness-aijo-accused-of-taking-part-in-armed-conflict-in-ukraine-200397|title=National Bolshevik Beness Aijo accused of taking part in armed conflict in Ukraine|date=8 May 2019|publisher=Baltic News Network|accessdate=22 August 2019}}
In early 2020, Ayo entered Russia using a passport from the unrecognised Donetsk People's Republic. He was later detained in Yarensk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, where Ayo was planning to take part in a protest against the construction of a garbage landfill.{{cite news|last=Kyt|first=Andry|url=https://handofmoscow.com/2020/02/11/black-lenin-from-dni-detained-in-russia/|title=Black Lenin from DNI detained in Russia|date=11 February 2020|publisher=Hand of Moscow|accessdate=12 February 2020}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Latvian Prosecutor General's Office requested his extradition to Latvia,{{cite news|url=https://bnn-news.com/latvia-to-request-russia-to-hand-over-detained-national-bolshevik-beness-aijo-210381|title=Latvia to request Russia to hand over detained National-Bolshevik Beness Aijo|date=12 February 2020|publisher=Baltic News Network|accessdate=21 February 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/society/latvia-to-seek-extradition-of-oddball-radical-beness-aijo.a348371/|title=Latvia to seek extradition of oddball radical Beness Aijo|date=14 February 2020|publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia|accessdate=21 February 2020}} while Ayo asked Vladimir Putin for political asylum in Russia.{{cite news|url=https://www.baltictimes.com/national_bolshevik_beness_aijo_asks_putin_to_grant_him_political_asylum/|title=National Bolshevik Beness Aijo asks Putin to grant him political asylum|date=14 February 2020|newspaper=The Baltic Times|accessdate=21 February 2020}} Ayo was released from prison in February 2020{{cite web|url=https://www.unian.info/war/10872536-russian-police-free-black-lenin-media.html|title=Russian police free 'Black Lenin' – media|work=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|date=February 13, 2020|accessdate=September 27, 2020}} and granted political asylum in Russia in October.{{cite news |last1=Pavlyuk |first1=Oleg |title="Черного Ленина", который воевал на стороне "ДНР" и "ЛНР", в Латвии заочно приговорили к двум с половиной годам тюрьмы |url=https://hromadske.ua/ru/posts/chernogo-lenina-kotoryj-voeval-na-storone-dnr-i-lnr-v-latvii-zaochno-prigovorili-k-dvum-s-polovinoj-godam-tyurmy |access-date=11 October 2022 |work=Hromadske |date=17 May 2021 |language=ru}}
Ayo joined the Communist Party of the Russian Federation some time after 2020, according to the party's website.{{cite news |title=Трое погибших коммунистов, членов КПРФ на СВО в Украине, Или Ходаковский он-лайн |url=https://kprf.ru/history/soviet/213302.html |access-date=11 October 2022 |work=Communist Party of the Russian Federation |date=14 September 2022 |language=ru}}
On 17 May 2021, a Latvian court in Riga found Ayo guilty of "calling for the violent overthrow of the government, the liquidation of Latvian independence, and the undermining of the territorial integrity of Latvia". He was sentenced in absentia to two years and six months in prison, as well as one year of probation.
In December 2022, Ayo was granted Russian citizenship.{{cite web|url= https://www.la.lv/beness-aijo-kluvis-par-krievijas-pilsoni-pmlp-vertes-latvijas-pilsonibas-atnemsanu-vinam|title=Beness Aijo has become a citizen of Russia. PMLP will assess the revocation of his Latvian citizenship|website=LA.LV|access-date=2022-12-01|language=lv}} On 6 February 2023, the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office revoked Aijo's Latvian citizenship.{{cite news |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/crime/national-bolshevik-beness-aijo-stripped-of-latvian-citizenship.a495101/ |title='National Bolshevik' Beness Aijo stripped of Latvian citizenship |date=6 February 2023 |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |accessdate=6 February 2023}}{{cite news |url=https://www.baltictimes.com/national_bolshevik_aijo_to_lose_latvian_citizenship/ |title=National Bolshevik Aijo to lose Latvian citizenship |date=6 February 2023 |newspaper=The Baltic Times |accessdate=6 February 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://vk.com/aijobeness Ayo Benes] on VKontakte
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140814095929/http://approve.sx/ukraine-foreigners-fight-socialism-greater-russia/ "In Ukraine, foreigners fight for socialism and Greater Russia"]. An interview with National Bolshevik Benes Ayo. {{in lang|en}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayo, Benes}}
Category:Russian people of Ugandan descent
Category:National Bolshevik Party politicians
Category:Communist Party of the Russian Federation members
Category:Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Category:Prisoners and detainees of Latvia
Category:Prisoners and detainees of the Netherlands
Category:Prisoners and detainees of Ukraine
Category:Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas
Category:Pro-Russia foreign volunteers in the Russian invasion of Ukraine