BelOMO



BelOMO or Belorusskoe Optiko-Mechanichesckoye Obyedinenie (Беломо or Белорусское оптико-механическое объединение, Belarus Optical & Mechanical Association) was founded in Minsk in 1971 in Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union, now Belarus. The main factory is the Minskiy Mechanichesckiy Zavod imeni S.I. Vavilova, opened in Minsk 1957 and named after the Soviet physicist Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov (1891–1951).

At first, BelOMO made photographic equipment and lens-making machinery for state use. It now manufactures a wide range of products, including military and consumer optical products. During the 1980s it produced the Agat-18 and Agat-18K half-frame 35mm cameras, still popular among Lomographic photographers.

A joint venture with German optics maker Zeiss was begun in 1995 and ended 2023/24. The firm produces lenses and optical elements for microscopes and other optical equipment with ISO 9001 certification.

MMZ—BelOMO factory estimates its global market share in optical sights, rangefinders and NVDs at 2-3%, with 10% of Russian market and 80% of local market. The factory also produces gas meters, car units, infra-red emitters, juicers and other civil products.

International sanctions
In 2022, BelOMO was blacklisted by the European Union, the US, Switzerland and Japan, in response to Belarus's enabling of and support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In May, 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions against several BelOMO subsidiaries On July 1, 2023, Ukraine further blacklisted the CEO of BelOMO Alexander Moroz, the director of the STC "LEMT" Alexey Shkadarevich and several enterprises of the association. In August 2023, BelOMO was also blacklisted by Canada and the United Kingdom.

On December 5, 2023, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has added BelOMO, LEMT BelOMO and JSC Zenit BelOMO, another BelOMO subsidiary, as well as their Directors general, Moroz, Shkadarevich and Gaichuk, to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. In April 2024, Dzmitry Mikhaltsou, the technical director of the Vavilov Plant, was also added to the SDN list.

Camera models

 * Agat-18
 * Agat-18K
 * Chaika
 * Elikon-35CM
 * Vilia