Nikolai Katselapov, Chief Business Development Officer at World of Tanks studio Wargaming, said: Added to “List of Organizations and Individuals Involved in Terrorist Activities” (opens in new tab) Belarus National Security Committee (or KGB, yes, that KGB). In a move likely triggered by Wargaming’s withdrawal from Belarus (opens in new tab) After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he was charged under Article 290-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus “Financing of terrorist activities”.
Katslapov’s actual addition to the list dates back to December 30, when an independent Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva (opens in new tab) (via game world observer (opens in new tab)) reported the story of how it became more widely known. Nasha Niva believes that Katselapov is still free. This makes sense considering Wargaming has not been in Belarus for nearly a year, but so far we have not been able to get a comment from the company.
We have also reached out to Wargaming for comment on this story. I will update this article if I get a reply.
Belarus has long used the terrorist list as a political cudgel. In the past, dissidents such as opposition leader and former presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanoskaya have participated as a pretext to justify crackdowns on groups and individuals opposing President Aryaksandr Lukashenka. Wargaming’s decision to pull out of Belarus last April may have angered senior officials in the Belarusian government, especially given that Wargaming is the country’s largest game development studio. In 2016 it was worth over $1 billion. (opens in new tab)
It is unclear why Belarus specifically chose Katslapov, but Nasha Niva speculates that at some point Katslapov donated to an opposition politician. Either way, he’s now his 993rd entry on the latest edition of the Belarusian terrorist list, and it seems even less likely that Wargaming will return to his home country any time soon.