Believer ALIAKSANDR KHIKHEL, Belarusian Orthodox Church (Miadziel, Minsk Region)

Aliaksandr Khikhel is a singer-songwriter known for his music on social and political themes, particularly his Christian and anti-war lyrics. In his songs—often performed against a backdrop of icons and crosses—he criticized war and state violence from a Christian perspective. His YouTube channel had 49,000 subscribers.

On 4 June 2025, he was detained following a denunciation by a pro-Russian activist who had been accusing him of “supporting a coup” since 2020 and of making anti-war statements. His YouTube channel was deleted, and on 6 June 2025, it was officially declared “extremist material” by the court of the Maladziečna District in the Minsk Region.