Beness Aijo

Beness Aijo
Бенес Айо
Aijo in 2020
Personal details
Born	(1979-06-08) 8 June 1979 (age 44) Rēzekne, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Citizenship	Latvia (until 2023) Russia (since 2022)
Political party	The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of the Russian Federation (from c. 2021) Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist) (in the United Kingdom, from c. 2006) National Bolshevik Party (1998–2007)
Alma mater	University of Latvia (BSc) Birkbeck, University of London (MMSc)
Occupation	Political activist
Known for	National Bolshevik activism
Nickname	Black Lenin
Military service
Allegiance	Russia  Donetsk People's Republic  Luhansk People's Republic
Branch/service	Interbrigades
Years of service	2014 2015–present
Battles/wars	Russo-Ukrainian War 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Annexation of Crimea War in Donbas 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Beness Khristoferovich Aijo (Russian: Бенес Христоферович Айо; born 8 June 1979), also known by his nickname "Black Lenin"^[1] (Russian: Чёрный Ленин), is a Latvian-born Russian political activist. He has been active in the National Bolshevik movement since 1998^[2][3] and has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for his political activities in various countries.

Born in the city of Rēzekne to a Russian mother and a Ugandan father, 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.