Siarhei Bulba's son raises money in Poland, fabricating a biography of a veteran and political refugee

Kanstantsin Kalinouski. From birth, he was registered as Kastus Kalinouski-Chyslau, but in adulthood, he corrected his name and removed the second part of his surname.

"Kostia is a guy from Belarus who was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons, moved to Ukraine, where he tried to start all over again. When the war broke out, he didn't hesitate for a minute. He joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and stood in defense of the land that gave him a home and a second chance. Later, fate pushed Kostia to Poland. Here he applied for international protection and started working on a construction site to be able to support himself," says the description of the fundraising campaign for Kanstantsin Kalinouski, son of Siarhei Chyslau (Bulba).

Money is needed for rehabilitation after falling from a height, as well as for another operation on his arm.

The collection is conducted on behalf of "Kostia's friends"; no medical documents have been attached to confirm the story. This collection was not placed on Belarusian crowdfunding platforms. Why?

Perhaps because such a heroic presentation of the completely unheroic biography of Chyslau's son would greatly upset Belarusian readers and, in particular, Belarusian volunteers. One of them actually sent the collection to "Nasha Niva," accompanying it with a cynical, unprintable comment.

So what's wrong there?

It turns out that at the time the war began, Chyslau Jr. was indeed in Ukraine and expressed a desire to join "Azov," on the basis of which the Kalinouski Regiment later emerged. He claimed to be a political activist from Belarus.

He stayed at the training base exactly until an extract about him arrived from the "Cyberpartisans." From it, it became known that Kanstantsin Kalinouski indeed had problems with the law, but absolutely not related to politics.

In 2015, passers-by called an ambulance for a man near an entrance who was high. In the emergency hospital, drugs (Alpha-PVP) were found on him, and the police were called – Chyslau Jr. was sentenced to 3 years in a penal colony.

In 2020, Kalinouski was not administratively or criminally detained, according to the databases – his name in the "Cyberpartisans" databases does not have the "Riots" tag, which was applied to everyone prosecuted for political reasons. Human rights defenders also did not report his persecution.

However, in May 2021, Kanstantsin was still detained – again with drugs, this time mephedrone. Another criminal case was initiated. True, Chyslau Jr. did not go to prison for it, but, being a suspect, somehow ended up in Ukraine – these murky details, as well as the concealment of biographical facts, put an end to his combat career.

Chyslau was denied admission to the Kalinouski Regiment. He did not participate in combat operations. Very soon he left for Poland and was banned from entering Ukraine.

Much later – in August 2023, a video with Kanstantsin was published on one of the police Telegram channels. Presumably, the recording was made during that same detention in May 2021.

In the video, the young man in handcuffs, sitting in a drug control department office, in an apparently altered state of consciousness, answers the operative's questions: "used 'dog' (slang for drug)", "it's Alpha PvP", "I use it injectively", "I wouldn't say I particularly protested in 2020".

Meanwhile, Chyslau continues to tell fabricated details to the media for fundraising purposes.

Thus, he told "Radio Svaboda" that he participated in protests in 2020, was detained, and spent three months in a pre-trial detention center, but did not keep any documents. He claims that he allegedly left Belarus in early 2021 (although in reality he was detained with drugs in May 2021), and also that he was in the Kalinouski Regiment for two months and left due to a conflict with the headquarters. It appears that everything listed is a lie.

"Nasha Niva" contacted Chyslau-Kalinouski with a request to elaborate on the nature of his injuries, provide documents, and also tell more about his participation in hostilities and political life.

Kanstantsin delayed his replies, and then wrote: "When I gather complete information, then I will reply. I am trying to ascertain the specific reason for my inclusion in the Interpol lists in 2023 and to provide all information."

Павялічыць

Siarhei Bulba

Siarhei Bulba (formerly Chyslau) is a former military man; in the 1990s, he was one of the leaders of the "White Legion." He was responsible for protecting Viktar Hanchar. In the 2010s, he lived in Ukraine and headed several foundations. After the start of the war, he moved to Poland and created foundations there as well. He became involved in a scandal with the "Belarusian Youth Hub."

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