A Russian citizen. According to the prosecution , Alexander was intoxicated when, on the night of June 19, 2023, he allegedly first tore down a flag attached to the wall of a store. He then removed another flag from a building in Minsk near a metro station and handed it to a metro employee. He then allegedly removed a flag from the façade of a Belpochta branch building and left it at the entrance. Finally, he allegedly tore down another flag, threw it at a public transport stop, and set it on fire. That same night, Alexander allegedly set fire to a plastic waste container. Alexander Smirnov pleaded not guilty during his trial. He said he tore down the flags while intoxicated because he wanted to keep a memento of his time in Belarus and hang them in his home. He had no intention of desecrating state symbols. He accidentally set fire to one of the flags, and was not even present at the scene of one of the incidents. Alexander noted that he gave preliminary testimony regarding this episode under physical and emotional pressure from police officers .
Alexander has a criminal record: in April 2023, he was convicted under Part 1 of Article 205 (theft) and Part 1 of Article 339 (hooliganism) and sentenced to three months in jail. He was released after serving his sentence.
In April 2026, he was released , having fully served his sentence.
