On February 26, 2026, 16 new books were added to the list of printed publications that, according to the authorities, “may harm the national interests of the Republic of Belarus”:
- A Smile – A Pilgrim of the Soul: Poems, Translations — Vladimir Khoroshko (Belarus)
- BDSM. Infinite Kindness, Compassion and Mercy — Alexander Chashchin (Russia)
- Your Mari — Marianna Kramm (Germany)
- Lessons in Sin — Pam Godwin (USA)
- The Cannibal’s Diary: The Story of the Japanese Cannibal Who Gained Fame Instead of a Prison Sentence — Issei Sagawa (Japan)
- Prozac Nation — Elizabeth Wurtzel (USA)
- Seven Petals — Sergey Kuznetsov (Russia)
- Amnesia of the Soul — Tatyana Kogan (Russia)
- The Lamp of Methuselah, or The Final Battle of the Chekists with the Freemasons — Victor Pelevin (Russia)
- Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk — Legs McNeil (USA), Gillian McCain (Canada)
- The Song of Achilles — Madeline Miller (USA)
- The Forest of the Dead — Jean-Christophe Grangé (France)
- Release — Patrick Ness (United Kingdom)
- The Absolutist — John Boyne (Ireland)
- Exquisite Corpse — Poppy Z. Brite (USA)
- Fistula — Artyom Serebryakov (Russia)
The full list is available on our website.
Including books that are widely regarded as significant achievements of world literature and culture:
Elizabeth Wurtzel — Prozac Nation (1994)
A landmark work for American culture of the 1990s. The memoir became a bestseller. It is an honest and painful confession of a young woman struggling with depression during the height of 1990s American pop culture. The book became a manifesto of a generation and opened up the topic of mental health for broad public discussion.
Victor Pelevin — The Lamp of Methuselah, or The Final Battle of the Chekists with the Freemasons (2016)
One of the most famous contemporary Russian writers. Pelevin is the recipient of numerous literary awards, and each of his new novels becomes a cultural event. The banned novel was published in 2016. It is a postmodern cocktail of mysticism, conspiracy theories, and sharp satire of contemporary Russian reality. Pelevin masterfully brings together Freemasons, Chekists, and digital technologies in a single narrative space, searching for answers to eternal questions through absurdity.
Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain — Please Kill Me! (1997)
The “bible” of punk rock, compiled from hundreds of interviews with musicians, scenesters, and eyewitnesses of the era. A brutal, funny, and candid account of the backstage lives of Iggy Pop, the Ramones, and the rise of an entire subculture without censorship. The book contains almost no authorial narration (apart from the introduction and McNeil’s own recollections as one of the founders of Punk magazine); it is constructed from interview fragments with musicians.
Madeline Miller — The Song of Achilles (2011)
This novel became a true sensation. In 2012 it won the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction (now the Women’s Prize for Fiction). The book is an international bestseller. It was shortlisted for the 2013 Stonewall Book Award and the 2013 Chautauqua Prize. Universal Pictures acquired the film adaptation rights. It is Homer’s Iliad retold from the perspective of Patroclus, the overlooked hero who became Achilles’ closest friend and companion.
Jean-Christophe Grangé — The Forest of the Dead (2009)
A classic of the contemporary French thriller and the author of the famous The Crimson Rivers. His books sell in huge print runs worldwide and are frequently adapted for film. A dark intellectual thriller in which the main character—a judge—tries to uncover a series of ritual murders. The author masterfully immerses the reader in a world of anthropology and primal fears, sustaining tension until the very last page.
Patrick Ness — Release (2017)
A British-American author who has twice received the Carnegie Medal (the highest award in children’s and young adult literature in the UK). His works have been adapted in Hollywood (for example, A Monster Calls). An emotionally intense story about the most important day in a teenager’s life, filled with secrets and the search for identity. A profound novel about first love, family trauma, and the courage to accept oneself as one is.
John Boyne — The Absolutist (2011)
A renowned Irish writer, author of the global bestseller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and are regularly nominated for international awards (including the Dublin Literary Award). A powerful psychological drama set during the First World War, in which the protagonist visits the family of his fallen comrade to deliver his letters. The novel raises complex questions of conscience, betrayal, and how difficult it is to preserve one’s humanity in times of total madness.