Belarusian government adds slogan 'Long live Belarus' to list of banned 'Nazi symbols'

The Belarusian Interior Ministry has added the slogan “Zhive Belarus,” or “Long Live Belarus,” to its official list of "Nazi symbols," the independent news outlet Zerkalo reported on Thursday, citing a decree published on the ministry’s official website.

The slogan became a symbol of the anti-Lukashenko protests that swept Belarus in 2020 after a blatantly rigged presidential election.

The document refers to the phrase as a “collaborationist greeting” and a symbol of the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS.

Belarusians who use a slogan or symbol from the government’s "Nazi symbols" list more than once risk facing up to four years in prison.