Essays The silence of the Belarusian library A struggle against disappearance

This essay examines the escalation of book censorship and repressions against independent publishers in Belarus. While state registries mask the suppression as a minor statistical anomaly affecting a minimal percentage of the national bibliography, context reveals a centralized program of cultural erasure (and books published in Belarusian language, in particular). The regime targets the intellectual vanguard, liquidating independent publishing houses and criminalizing Belarusian-language materials to suppress civic dissent. Situated within a broader historical trajectory – from Imperial Russian and Stalinist repressions to contemporary practices – the domestic crackdown has forced an institutional exodus, shifting the center of Belarusian literature abroad. This study analyzes the resilience of the transnational publishing infrastructure operating in exile and calls for the global community's support in counteracting state-enforced amnesia.

Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW 2026 vol. 19 no. 3-4, pages 4-11
Published on balticworlds.com on November 6, 2026

abstract

This essay examines the escalation of book censorship and repressions against independent publishers in Belarus. While state registries mask the suppression as a minor statistical anomaly affecting a minimal percentage of the national bibliography, context reveals a centralized program of cultural erasure (and books published in Belarusian language, in particular). The regime targets the intellectual vanguard, liquidating independent publishing houses and criminalizing Belarusian-language materials to suppress civic dissent. Situated within a broader historical trajectory – from Imperial Russian and Stalinist repressions to contemporary practices – the domestic crackdown has forced an institutional exodus, shifting the center of Belarusian literature abroad. This study analyzes the resilience of the transnational publishing infrastructure operating in exile and calls for the global community’s support in counteracting state-enforced amnesia.

KEYWORDS: Belarus, censorship, independent publishing, cultural erasure, literature in exile, totalitarianism.

Olga Bubich