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Federal agents scavenging around musicians’ residences in the hopes of finding “extremist materials” so they can imprison them. Government officials branding critics of the president as “terrorists.” Police creating blacklists of musicians and targeting them for harassment, abuse and even worse.

Where are those activities taking place? That we have to stop and think about whether it’s the U.S. or another country should give pause to all American residents. Those anti-democratic measures have been and still are  taking place in Belarus, which dictator Alexander Lukashenko has ruled with an iron fist since July 1994. No other current leader has ruled a European country as long as he has.

In this video, we link up with vocalist, flutist and lyricist Katsiaryna “Nokt Aeon” Mankevich, who recently escaped her Belarus homeland after a court decided music and concert videos by her metal band, Dymna Lotva, were “extremist materials.” The resulting punishment was lifelong banishment from Belarus and potential imprisonment if she returns there.

Mankevich escaped from Belarus in August 2021 after Dymna Lotva’s concerts were banned and the KGB called their current guitarist a “terrorist.” The band’s videos were officially declared extremist in December 2025. There are several additional criminal cases pending in Belarus courts that are similar.

Equally incredulous, Belarus officials are also using their accusations against Nokt as reason to imprison her group’s Belarusian fans who simply liked, reposted or commented on Dymna Lotva videos online. (Meanwhile, the band members are now living in Warsaw, Poland, and just formed a new music project there.)

Driving home the point that such anti-democratic, abusive and downright horrifying activities could occur in America, consider that Lukashenko accepted Trump’s invitation to serve on the latter’s preposterous “Board of Peace” last month.

Note: Since launching this On Tyranny series, a handful of musicians declined The Bad Penny‘s invitation to participate because they “don’t do politics” or “aren’t up on current events.” This interview with Nokt — truly a hero for sharing her story in light of the threats she has faced and the traumas she has experienced — should serve as a wake-up call to those artists.

The time for keeping one’s head in the sand and sitting on the sidelines has long since past. Watch this video and try to explain how you can justify such behavior during these historically perilous times in the U.S. and the world.

Go here to peruse more than 100 interviews with artists who have bravely participated in The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series.

Go to Dymna Lotva’s Bandcamp page for more information about the band.

This entry was posted on 02/17/2026 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags authoritarianism, censorship, Dymna Lotva, fascism, On Tyranny, tyranny. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.