i.e., writing articles for a local newspaper, but he also expressed a desire to undergo training and sign up for active service. Riga Central District Court subsequently launched a manhunt for Aijo. Aijo 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. In the middle of April 2019, Aijo was declared a suspect by the Latvia's State Security Service in a case regarding illegal participation in the pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. In early 2020, Aijo entered Russia using a passport from the unrecognised Donetsk People's Republic. He was later detained in Yarensk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, where Aijo was planning to take part in a protest against the construction of a garbage landfill. The Latvian Prosecutor General's Office requested his extradition to Latvia, while Aijo asked Vladimir Putin for political asylum in Russia. Aijo was released from prison in February 2020 and granted political asylum in Russia in October. Aijo joined the Communist Party of the Russian Federation some time after 2020, according to the party's website. On 17 May 2021, a Latvian court in Riga found Aijo 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, Aijo was granted Russian citizenship. On 6 February 2023, the Latvian Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office revoked Aijo's Latvian citizenship. References External links Aijo Beness on VKontakte "In Ukraine, foreigners fight for socialism and Greater Russia". An interview with National Bolshevik Beness Aijo. 1979 births Living people People from Rēzekne Russian people of Ugandan descent National Bolshevik Party politicians Communist Party of the Russian Federation members Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Russian politicians Russian communists Russian Christians Old Believers Prisoners and detainees of Latvia Prisoners and detainees of the Netherlands Prisoners and detainees of Ukraine Pro-Russian people of the war in Donbas National Bolsheviks Neo-Stalinists