The banning of books is not only an act of censorship, but also a violation of the right to freedom of expression and access to information, as enshrined in international treaties. We document every case to ensure that the truth about cultural repression is preserved and heard.

Here you will find the banned books lists, some stories of authors and their works, legal assessment and consequences of ban. This website is a reminder: even when a book is banned, it does not disappear. Words endure if there are those who wish to read them.

Today in Belarus:

• 222+ books banned for political or ideological reasons
• 179 + authors under prohibition 
• 5 independent publishers liquidated in the past five years  
• At least 40 writers are not free 
  

To read more about the project

There are three types of banned book lists in Belarus: 

• The official National List of Extremist Materials 
• The official list of materials deemed harmful to national interests
• An informal banlist, not publicly available, but well known to libraries and bookshops, which understand which authors must not be made accessible.

Possessing such a book at home carries the risk of a fine or arrest (up 15 days).

The banning of books in Belarus is a tool of political censorship and systemic repression that violates both national and international law. To read more about legal assessment…

Our present. This category includes books by those who speak about the Belarusian language, memory, dignity, and political or moral alternatives. These are the voices shaping Belarusian narratives over recent decades, now under attack.

To read more…

The material includes the works of Soviet-era writers who survived the ideological machine but still found words of truth (words the authorities want us to forget).

To read more…

The material is dedicated to the roots of Belarusian literature, written in the people’s language and feared by the empire. Today’s regime continues to ban them, still afraid of the very idea of Belarusian identity.

To read more…

This section compiles examples of banned books by international writers, from essays on democracy to novels about human dignity, love, and choice. 

To read more…