Beness Khristoferovich Aijo (; born 8 June 1979), also known by his nickname "Black Lenin" (), is a National Bolshevik activist of Russian and Ugandan descent. 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. Born in the Latvian city of Rēzekne, Aijo 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, Aijo 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. Aijo 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 Aijo political asylum in October 2020 and Russian citizenship in December 2022. The Latvian government revoked Aijo's Latvian citizenship in response to the latter. Biography Early life and activism Beness Aijo was born in Rēzekne, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union. His father is Ugandan and his mother is Russian. He studied biology at the University of Latvia. He is an Orthodox Old Believer. On 7 May 2005, Aijo was arrested for setting off smoke bombs during the visit of George W. Bush to Latvia. Later that year, Aijo was arrested and sentenced to 9 months in prison for calling for the overthrow of Latvia's political system. In prison, Aijo subsequently went on a hunger strike that lasted for 27 days until his health deteriorated enough to require hospitalisation. After spending five and a half months in jail, his security measure was changed from imprisonment to police surveillance at Aijo's request, when he cited his diabetes. Thereafter, Aijo left Latvia and moved to London in the United Kingdom. He studied Medical Microbiology at the University of London, Birkbeck. Later in London, Aijo worked as a construction worker at the Heathrow Terminal 2. He played an active role in political rallies in the UK, where he was a