MINSK -- Authorities in Belarus have launched a probe against members of a youth group that imitates characters of a Japanese anime series called Hunter x Hunter and has allegedly organized or carried out mass brawls in recent weeks in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.
The Investigative Committee of Belarus said on March 1 that the probe was launched into "actions that blatantly disrupt social order," after 200 youths were detained near a mall in the southeastern city of Homel the previous day.
The committee's spokesman, Syarhey Kabakovich, said in a statement that the detained individuals were members of a group called ChVK Ryodan. The abbreviation ChVK usually stands for “private military company,” such as Russia’s notorious Wagner mercenary group, but apparently does not signify anything in the group’s name.
Although Ryodan is a relatively new youth subculture, it has gained prominence amid reports that its members have been involved in mass brawls in public places with representatives of other youth movements.
In neighboring Ukraine, Yaroslav Shanko of the National Police said on March 1 that police had managed to prevent 41 potential mass brawls by Ryodan members in several regions in recent days.
Shanko added that, in all, some 800 youths, mostly under the age of 18, had been summoned by police, where they were told about the possible repercussions of organizing and participating in mass brawls in public places.
A day earlier, Ukrainian police said 18 online channels and social-network groups created "to destabilize the situation in Ukraine via a new youth movement from the Russian Federation" had been blocked.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters in Moscow on February 28 that the Kremlin's attitude toward Ryodan is "negative," adding that the "illegal activities" of the movement must be stopped.
The Russian authorities said earlier that Ryodan members had been involved in brawls in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, and Kursk in the second half of February.
