As PEN Belarus has learned, on 12 August 2026 the Zavodski District Court of Minsk designated six printed publications as “extremist materials”:
- Piotra Rudkoŭski, The Rise of Belarus (Vilnius: Institute of Belarusian Studies, 2007) / Naša Niva
- Pavał Sieviaryniec, The Young Front Generation: A History of the Youth Born in 1970–1985 (Minsk, 2004)
- Uładzimir Roŭda, The Political System of the Republic of Belarus: A Study Guide (Vilnius: European Humanities University, 2011)
- Siarhiej Skrabiec, The Price of Freedom, or Confessions of an Opposition Politician (Minsk, 2019) / Belarusian Prison Literature series, vol. 8
- Bykaŭ on Radio Liberty (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2004) / Library of Liberty
- Nonviolence and Belarus (Warsaw, 1999) 12.08.2026
This is already the fourth book by Pavał Sieviaryniec to be banned – The Young Front Generation: A History of the Youth Born in 1970–1985. His books Heart of Stone, I Love Belarus: 200 Phenomena of the National Idea, and Biełarusalim. The Second Book. The Heart of Light had previously been added to the list of “extremist materials.”
Another banned book, Bykaŭ on Radio Liberty, was edited and compiled by Siarhiej Navumčyk, the author of the previously banned books Ninety-Second and Ninety-Third.
Following the decision of 12 August, the number of books banned in Belarus has exceeded 375, while the number of banned authors has reached 311.
PEN Belarus views this not as an isolated incident, but as yet another episode in the systematic and arbitrary policy of cultural repression.
We call for these unlawful court decisions to be overturned and for the publications to be removed from the list of “extremist materials.”
We will continue to document every violation of cultural rights so that evidence of these repressions is preserved for history and for future legal accountability.