Trellis for Belarus
When They Cut the Internet, We Keep You Connected
Калі інтэрнэт адключаюць, мы захоўваем сувязь
On August 9, 2020, Belarus experienced a near-total internet blackout lasting three days. Lukashenko's regime cut connectivity for 9.4 million people to crush the largest protests in Belarusian history. Hundreds were tortured in detention. The world couldn't see. Trellis ensures this never works again.
What Happened in Belarus
The 2020 Belarusian protests were the largest challenge to Lukashenko's 26-year rule. The regime's response combined Soviet-era brutality with Russian-imported digital repression.
Election Day & Total Shutdown
Alexander Lukashenko claims 80% of the vote in a widely disputed election. As protests erupt across Minsk, the regime activates a near-total internet shutdown. Beltelecom, the state-owned backbone provider, cuts international traffic. Mobile data disappears. Only fragments of connectivity remain through some fixed-line connections.
Three Days of Darkness
With the internet down, riot police (OMON) unleash unprecedented violence. Stun grenades, rubber bullets, and beatings in the streets of Minsk. Thousands dragged to the Okrestina detention center where systematic torture occurs. Without connectivity, victims cannot document abuse, families cannot find the detained, and the world cannot witness the brutality.
Partial Restoration & Horror Emerges
Internet partially restored after 64 hours. Photos and videos of torture flood social media. Detainees released with severe injuries. International condemnation follows. But the damage is done — the blackout gave the regime three days to crush the movement's momentum with maximum violence and minimum accountability.
Systematic Digital Crackdown
Telegram channels designated as "extremist" — subscribing becomes a criminal offense. NEXTA founders arrested via forced Ryanair diversion. Independent media outlets shuttered. VPNs monitored through SORM equipment provided by Russia. Journalists face up to 15 years in prison for reporting.
Permanent Surveillance State
Belarus deploys Russian SORM-3 deep packet inspection across all ISPs. VPN usage tracked and flagged. Social media monitoring identifies dissidents retroactively. The GosSOPKA system provides centralized censorship control. Belarus becomes Russia's digital repression testing ground — every tool perfected here gets deployed in Moscow next.
“The internet shutdown during the 2020 elections was not a technical failure. It was a deliberate act of war against the Belarusian people's right to information.”— Access Now, #KeepItOn Coalition Report on Belarus
Russia's Surveillance, Lukashenko's Brutality
Belarus operates a hybrid repression model: Russian SORM surveillance technology combined with a dictator willing to use it without any restraint.
SORM Inherited from Russia
Belarus uses Russian SORM deep packet inspection on every ISP. The KGB (yes, Belarus still calls it the KGB) has real-time access to all internet traffic without judicial oversight. Every message, every website visit, every VPN connection — logged and searchable by the security services.
Telegram Criminalized
Telegram channels that organized protests designated as "extremist organizations." Simply subscribing to channels like NEXTA carries criminal penalties of up to 7 years. Phone inspections at checkpoints check for Telegram subscriptions. Your app history becomes evidence for prosecution.
VPN Bans & Monitoring
VPN services systematically blocked at the ISP level. Users who successfully connect to VPNs are flagged by SORM for further investigation. The regime doesn't just block VPNs — it uses VPN connection attempts as evidence of suspicious activity. Trying to be private makes you a target.
“Belarus has become a laboratory for digital authoritarianism. What works here will be exported to every autocracy that wants to silence dissent.”— Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2023 Report
Built for the Belarusian Reality
Every Trellis feature addresses a specific element of Belarus's repression infrastructure — from SORM surveillance to checkpoint inspections to total shutdowns.
Mesh Networking
When Beltelecom kills the internet, your phone becomes a relay. BLE and WiFi Aware create device-to-device networks. Messages hop phone to phone across Minsk's apartment blocks, through protest crowds, between neighborhoods. No ISPs. No SORM. No kill switch. The mesh cannot be shut down.
SORM-Resistant Obfuscation
Traffic disguised as normal HTTPS browsing. obfs4 pluggable transports defeat deep packet inspection. Meek bridges route through cloud CDNs. WireGuard with stealth wrapper randomizes packet sizes and timing. SORM sees ordinary web traffic. Nothing to flag. Nothing to investigate.
Stealth Mode
App disguises as a calculator, weather app, or notes. Fully functional decoy interface. Secret gesture opens Trellis. At KGB checkpoints or OMON stops, your phone shows nothing suspicious. Running processes display innocent names. No trace of censorship bypass tools on your device.
Duress PIN
If forced to unlock your phone at a checkpoint, enter the duress PIN. It opens a convincing fake interface — normal apps, empty chats, no protest channels. Real data, encryption keys, and Telegram subscriptions permanently destroyed in under 3 seconds. Appears to comply while protecting everything.
Anti-Forensics
Defeats Cellebrite and UFED extraction tools used by Belarusian KGB. RAM-only data storage. 3-pass deletion. Hardware keystore encryption. Even if your device is seized at Okrestina, they cannot recover your contacts, messages, group memberships, or Telegram channel subscriptions.
Satellite Fallback
When Beltelecom cuts all terrestrial internet, Trellis routes through satellite. Android SatelliteManager API plus external devices like Garmin inReach and ZOLEO. Multiple satellite channels mean jamming one doesn't kill all. One satellite connection serves an entire mesh cluster.
Dead Contact Protocol
If you don't check in within a configurable time period, your trusted contacts are automatically notified. Data is wiped. This protects detained activists — if you're taken to Okrestina, your network knows something happened, even through a blackout, via mesh relay.
Free for All Belarusians
Geofencing auto-detects Belarusian users and grants full premium features for free. No payment. No account. No trace of purchase. Mesh-earned credits for optional features. No Belarusian is left unprotected because of sanctions or economic isolation.
How Trellis Reaches Belarus
With app stores monitored and VPN downloads flagged, Trellis reaches Belarusians through channels the KGB cannot control.
Lithuanian & Polish Border Network
Belarusian diaspora communities in Vilnius, Warsaw, and Bialystok serve as primary distribution hubs. APKs shared through trusted exile networks. Devices pre-loaded with Trellis cross the border. Border-proximity mesh connections bridge the gap.
APK Sideloading
Direct APK distribution via Bluetooth, WiFi Direct, and USB. File size optimized for low-bandwidth transfer. Shared through trusted personal networks — the same way Belarusians already distribute banned Telegram channels and VPN configurations.
Diaspora Relay Nodes
Belarusian communities in Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, and Germany run Trellis relay nodes on residential connections. These bridge mesh networks inside Belarus to the global internet through IP addresses that appear as normal household traffic.
Mesh Seeding
One Trellis device in a Minsk apartment block creates a mesh node. As neighbors install, the network grows. Dense urban housing in Belarus is ideal for mesh propagation. Each new device extends coverage and strengthens the network.
Pre-Positioned Infrastructure
VPN exit nodes in Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and Ukraine. Deployed and tested before the next shutdown. Multiple protocols ready. Automatic failover between nodes. When Beltelecom blocks one path, traffic routes through another instantly.
Invisible to SORM. Unstoppable by Beltelecom.
When SORM Is Watching
obfs4 makes traffic look like random noise. Meek bridges disguise it as cloud service requests. WireGuard stealth wrapper defeats DPI. Cover traffic masks real communication patterns. SORM-3 sees normal browsing. Nothing to flag. Nothing to investigate.
When Beltelecom Blocks
Domain fronting through CDNs used by Belarusian businesses. Automatic protocol rotation. Server addresses that change faster than the blacklist updates. Bridge distribution through Lithuanian and Polish border networks. Every block routed around in minutes.
During Total Shutdowns
BLE mesh networking creates local communication grids across Minsk. WiFi Aware extends range to 100 meters. Messages propagate through apartment blocks, protest crowds, and neighborhoods. The mesh works when Beltelecom pulls the plug on the entire country.
At KGB Checkpoints
Stealth mode shows a calculator. Duress PIN destroys all real data in under 3 seconds. Anti-forensic protection defeats Cellebrite extraction. RAM-only operation leaves no recoverable trace. Full plausible deniability — no evidence of Trellis, protest channels, or dissident contacts.
Three Days Changed Everything
On August 9, 2020, Lukashenko cut the internet for three days. In those three days, thousands were beaten, tortured, and detained at Okrestina. People emerged with injuries that shocked the world — but only after the internet came back. For three days, the regime operated with total impunity because no one could see what was happening.— Trellis Project · Built for Those Who March on Sundays
The Belarusian people showed extraordinary courage. They marched every Sunday for months. They created the largest protest movement in the country's history. But the tools failed them. VPNs were blocked. Telegram channels were designated as extremist. Simply having the wrong app on your phone became a criminal offense.
Trellis exists because the next time Lukashenko cuts the internet, the mesh keeps going. Phone to phone. Block to block. Across the Lithuanian border and back. No kill switch. No SORM. No Okrestina can silence a network that doesn't need infrastructure.
84 patents pending. Free for every Belarusian. Because three days of darkness should never happen again.
Help Belarus Stay Connected
Join the waitlist. Share with Belarusian communities in Vilnius and Warsaw. Every new device is a relay that SORM cannot see and Beltelecom cannot shut down.
Belarusian & Russian language supported · Free for all Belarusian users · 84 patents pending