He was declared a member of the "extremist group" "Da Zoraў." The KGB believes he and Semyon Malashenkov are members.
He is known as a musician, a gusli maker, and a member of the group "Stary Olsa." Since 2002, Chumakov has played and sung in the medieval music group "Stary Olsa," using the gusli, flutes, and other ancient instruments. In 2005, he founded the group "Bokal Kola," which performed Belarusian folk dances to the accompaniment of the duda and gusli, but the project was short-lived. Occasionally, the musician performed solo, performing folk dances.
Ales also translated Irish heroic poetry into Belarusian. In the band Ceilidh Ceol, formed in the mid-2000s, he performed ancient Irish songs in Belarusian dedicated to freedom and the memory of ancestors. In 2020, he lent his vocals to the Belarusian dub of the Netflix series The Witcher, performing the well-known song "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" in Belarusian.
On September 16, 2026, he was released after a visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Lithuania.
Trial outcome date unknown
2 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
How to write a letter
✏️ A postcard with words of encouragement (a poem by your favorite author, song lyrics, or a beautiful quote). Trust us, even such simple gestures are very meaningful to a person in jail.
✏️ Your life events. To a person who is in isolation for a long time, any story about your routine endeavors will be a window into normal life. Your day-to-day worries and mundane matters are much more interesting than the daily grind of life behind bars.
✏️ It is important to share news. Mention the most notable and interesting occurrences depending on your pen-pal's interests.
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So try to avoid:
👉️️ harsh statements regarding ongoing political matters
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