Vitaly Shishov (original) (raw)

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Belarusian activist (1995–2021)

Protests after irregular parliamentary elections in Minsk, Belarus in 2008

Vitaly Vasilyevich Shishov (Russian: Виталий Васильевич Шишов; 1995 – 2/3 August 2021), or Vital Vasilyevich Shyshou (Belarusian: Віталь Васільевіч Шышоў),[1] was a Belarusian political activist and dissident in exile, who disappeared, and was found dead in Ukraine in August 2021.[2] He was the head of the Belarusian House in Ukraine,[3] an organization that helps people to escape repressions following the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. At the age of 26, Shishov went missing from his home in Kyiv and was found dead, hanging from a tree in a park near the place where he lived.[4][5] His suspicious and unexpected death has raised public concerns about his possible assassination.[2][6]

He is believed to have been killed by Belarusian government agents.[7]

Shishov was from the region of Gomel in Belarus, near the border with Ukraine and Russia.[4]

Following the re-election of president Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020, who has been president of Belarus since 1994, Shishov and his girlfriend Bazhena Zholudzh decided to leave Belarus.[8]

While living in Ukraine, Shishov was aware of the possible dangers to himself from Belarusian government reprisals. He took to photographing the license plates of cars and people who appeared suspicious whom he saw in Kyiv.[9]

On 2 August 2021, Shishov put on his jogging clothes and is believed to have gone on a run.[10]

Later that day, Vitaly was reported missing in Kyiv by his partner. By the next day, he was found hanged in Sviatoshynsky Forest Park, a park near his home.[2] Ukrainian police opened a criminal case into his death and would investigate whether it was a suicide or "premeditative murder meant to look like suicide." The head of Ukrainian police highlighted that his body has been found with abrasions and peeled skin in several places.[11]

Democracy protest at the Embassy of Belarus, Washington, DC in August 2020

A week prior to his death, Shishov helped organize a rally in Kyiv that marked the 31st anniversary of Belarus's independence from the Soviet Union.[4] Shishov, as well as the Belarusian House in Ukraine (BHU), had received threats. His colleague Yuri Shchuchko stated that Ukrainian security officers and police had privately warned the BHU about threats to activists: "They said we should watch ourselves because a Belarusian KGB [secret police] network was active here." BHU stated that "[they] were warned repeatedly by local sources and our people in Belarus about possible provocations, going as far as kidnapping and assassination. Vitaly reacted to those warnings with stoicism and humour."[5]

A similar lynching incident occurred a year before. In 2020 in Belarus, the 28-year-old democracy activist Nikita Krivtsov was found hanging from a tree in a forest outside Minsk.[12] He was buried on September 26, 2021, in Kyiv.[13]

Following Shishov's death, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, ordered law enforcement agencies to more closely protect Belarusian exiles.[14]

In an 9 August press conference, President Lukashenko denied that Belarusian security services had killed Shishov, calling the activist "a nobody."[15][16]

• List of solved missing person cases

1. ^ "Ukrainian Police Open Murder Case After Finding Missing Belarusian Activist 'Hanged' In Kyiv". rferl.org. 3 August 2021.
2. ^ a b c "Vitaly Shishov: Head of Belarus exiles group found dead in Ukraine". BBC News. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
3. ^ "ГРОМАДСЬКА ОРГАНІЗАЦІЯ "БІЛОРУСЬКИЙ ДІМ В УКРАЇНІ" | E-data". 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
4. ^ a b c Troianovski, Anton; Specia, Megan (3 August 2021). "Missing Belarusian Activist Is Found Dead in Park in Ukraine". The New York Times. Moscow.
5. ^ a b "Vitaly Shishov: Head of Belarus exiles group found dead in Ukraine". BBC News. 3 August 2021. (...) Ukrainian security officers and police had privately warned the BHU about threats to activists. 'They said we should watch ourselves because a Belarusian KGB [secret police] network was active here' (...) 'We were warned repeatedly by local sources and our people in Belarus about possible provocations, going as far as kidnapping and assassination. Vitaly reacted to those warnings with stoicism and humour.'
6. ^ "Vitaly Shishov: Belarus dissidents who disappeared and died". BBC News. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
7. ^ Burdyga, Ihor (8 August 2021). "Ukraine investigating Belarusian activist's death as possible murder". DW News. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
8. ^ "Head of Belarusian exile group found hanged in Ukraine; police open murder case". Reuters. 3 August 2021.
9. ^ "Vitaly Shishov: Belarus activist feared for life before he died". BBC News. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
10. ^ Conrad, Peter (8 August 2021). "Jogger was executed to spread fear, say critics of Lukashenko". The Times. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
11. ^ Radina Gigova, Denis Lapin, Jessie Yeung and Tara John (3 August 2021). "Head of Belarusian exile group found dead in Kiev". CNN.{{[cite web](/wiki/Template:Cite%5Fweb "Template:Cite web")}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
12. ^ "Belarus police say protester found hanged from tree committed suicide. Friends "100% certain" police killed him". www.cbsnews.com. 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
13. ^ "Поховали очільника "Білоруського дому в Україні" Віталія Шишова". 26 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
14. ^ "Ukraine steps up protection of Belarusian exiles after activist death". Euronews with AP. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
15. ^ "Shishov case: Belarus leader Lukashenko denies link to dissident's death". BBC News. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
16. ^ Zinets, Natalia; James, William; Piper, Elizabeth (9 August 2021). "Defiant Belarus leader shrugs off sanctions, says athlete was 'manipulated'". Reuters. Retrieved 9 August 2021.