## From Startup Hub to “Extremist Formation”: Belarusian Tech Founders Face Exile and Statelessness
In 2013, Tatyana Marynich and Anastasiya Khamiankova envisioned a vibrant future for Belarus’s burgeoning tech scene. They founded Imaguru, a Minsk-based startup hub that became a launchpad for some of Eastern Europe’s most successful tech companies. Fast forward a decade, and that dream has turned into a nightmare. The two founders have been sentenced *in absentia* to a combined 23 years in prison by the Belarusian authorities, their property seized, and their work branded as “extremist.” Marynich, her passport expired and revoked, now faces statelessness and exile in Spain.
Their “crime,” according to the Lukashenko regime, was fostering an independent, pro-entrepreneurial ecosystem deemed a threat to its grip on power in a country traditionally dominated by state-owned industries.
“What began as an attempt to silence innovation has evolved into the full criminalization of independent business,” Marynich told TechCrunch.
Imaguru was more than just Belarus’s first startup hub; it became the very heart of the nation’s tech community. The accelerator and co-working space fostered over 300 startups and helped secure over $100 million in investments. Success stories like MSQRD (acquired by Facebook) and Prisma (reportedly acquired by Snapchat) trace their origins back to Imaguru’s early hackathons, where ambitious young people sought a brighter future.
“They were the main focal point of the venture community in Belarus,” explains Max Gurvits, General Partner at Vitosha Venture Partners in Bulgaria and an early mentor at Imaguru. “They brought together talent, investors, angels, ran the most significant programs—it was always a pleasure to go there.”
Marvin Liao, a US-based VC with Rolling Fund Diaspora.vc, echoes this sentiment. “They were super professional and really passionate,” he said. “Imaguru was the first central place where startup founders and aspiring tech entrepreneurs came together in Belarus. Tanya and Nastia were community builders in the truest sense.”
Imaguru’s impact extended beyond the purely economic. Marynich’s late husband, Michael Marynich, a former ambassador and minister, had previously paid a heavy price for his defiance, facing imprisonment for daring to challenge President Alexander Lukashenko in a past general election. This experience heavily influenced Tatyana’s decision to leave a secure position at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and venture into entrepreneurship.
“I was forced into entrepreneurship,” she explains. “Not just to survive economically, but because I believed in the same democratic values my husband had sacrificed his health for.”
“If politics fail,” she added, “then you have to create your own future. Entrepreneurs are free thinkers—and free people question power.” For the Lukashenko regime, this inherent questioning was deemed too dangerous.
**When Independence Becomes Dissent**
The turning point came after the widely disputed 2020 elections, which triggered mass protests across Belarus. Imaguru chose to open its doors to civil society groups, NGOs, and opposition figures. Marynich’s decision to join the Coordination Council, an opposition body led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, proved to be the last straw.
“She signed a declaration saying they wanted to hold free elections,” Gurvits explained. “But from that moment onward, she obviously became an enemy of the state, and anything related to her, like Imaguru, became completely forbidden.”
By 2021, the political pressure was unbearable. The government forcibly terminated Imaguru’s lease, and masked officers raided its offices, as TechCrunch reported at the time.
In 2023, the KGB officially designated Imaguru an “extremist formation,” effectively criminalizing any association with the group. Former directors were arrested, family members of staff in exile were interrogated, the website was blocked, and assets were frozen. Finally, in December of last year, the co-founders were sentenced to prison.
On the same day as her sentencing, Marynich’s Belarusian passport expired. Under a 2023 executive order from Lukashenko, Belarusian embassies are forbidden from issuing or renewing documents for citizens abroad, effectively trapping dissidents like Marynich in foreign countries, undocumented and stateless.
“I’m a stateless person,” Marynich laments. “I have a European residence permit, but without a valid passport, I can’t even apply for citizenship. I can’t leave Spain. I can’t open a bank account.”
Despite the dire circumstances, both founders remain resolute. Imaguru now operates hubs in Warsaw and Madrid, supported by European institutions. The team has also launched a campaign to declare entrepreneurship a human right, garnering support through an online petition.
“They really love their country,” said Liao. “And now they can never go back. It’s heartbreaking. I’ve written recommendation letters for both of them for international programs. I’d do it again in a second. These are good people, and this is unjust.”
**A Global Test of Values**
While Imaguru has received support in Poland and Lithuania, the Spanish government has yet to formally respond to appeals for assistance. Marynich remains in limbo, hoping that increased visibility will overcome bureaucratic inertia.
TechCrunch reached out to the office of María González Veracruz, the Secretary of state of Digitization and Artificial intelligence in Spain, but received no response by the time of publication.
“This is clearly a political crackdown,” Liao emphasizes. “Democratic governments should be doing everything they can to support them.”
Gurvits agrees: “Even junior employees who once worked at Imaguru can’t return to Belarus. This isn’t just about two founders. It’s about a whole community that’s been exiled for believing in innovation and freedom.”
Marynich remains defiant. “We built something beautiful,” she said. “Now we’re fighting for the right to exist. And we’re not giving up.”
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