The list of unwanted books is expanding in Belarus

Currently, there are 92 items in the list of “printed publications containing informational messages and (or) materials, the distribution of which is capable of harming the national interests of the Republic of Belarus.” Denis Yezersky, Deputy Minister of Information, spoke about the principles by which his department forms this list. There are indeed many publications in it, even the names of which can shake the moral foundations. However, books on Belarusian history and even a Pulitzer Prize-winning study on the Gulag somehow turned out to be among them.

The website of the Ministry of Information of Belarus contains a “List of printed publications containing informational messages and (or) materials, the distribution of which is capable of harming the national interests of the Republic of Belarus.” The list of malicious books is regularly updated. Recently, Denis Yezersky, Deputy Minister of Information, commented on the principles of its compilation in an interview with the Vecherniy Minsk newspaper.

“We have been keeping a list of such literature since 2023. There are currently 65 publications on the list, but unfortunately it is expanding. Most of the authors of such undesirable literature are representatives of the United States and European Union countries. These are books that promote cruelty, violence, and things that are absolutely alien and unacceptable to us, and they can harm national interests. The list is published on the website of the Ministry of Information. We are fighting against such publications. We constantly monitor the sales of books, including on the Internet, and, unfortunately, we reveal the facts of the supply of such literature. Therefore, we will continue preventive work with book distributors so that they do not order literature solely based on the picture, title and brief annotation, but also comply with the legislation in force in Belarus,” the official said.

Meanwhile, if you look directly at the list of books, it suddenly turns out that there are still 92 titles in it today. There are other oddities, and even, despite the seriousness of the government’s approach, funny moments.

First of all, of course, it is striking that in addition to books with content that is really clearly unacceptable to a citizen of Belarus, such as “On a porn game. Porn and the nature of addiction” by Gary Wilson, literally at the forefront there are works by Belarusian writers and historians. Among them are “The New Book of Pan A.” by Olgerd Bakharevich, “The Holy History of Belarus. Hero. The second one. The color of”Victor Lyakhor, “Aychyn: Malyunichaya gistory. The Hell of Ragneda da Katsiushki” by Vladimir Orlov and Pavel Tatarnikov.

Obviously, they contain something that is also “alien and unacceptable.” Moving further down the list, you can find very famous works in it, international bestsellers, one might say, “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell and “Lullaby” by Chuck Palahniuk. But, of course, specially authorized readers from the ministry know better how much the threat to morality contained in them prevails over their artistic merits.

However, we still have to note the inconsistency of the compilers of the list. For example, it contains the undoubtedly pernicious book of the Marquis de Sade, “The 120 Days of Sodom.” And, apparently, this is exactly the case when, according to Yezersky, his colleagues and subordinates themselves reacted to the “title and brief annotation.” I would like to tell them that the Marquis’s legacy is quite large, although rather monotonous, and books with innocent-looking titles “Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue” and “Philosophy in the Boudoir”, which have also been published in Russian more than once, can cause no less damage to the fragile moral health of Belarusian readers.

But perhaps the two most interesting positions on the list are: “GULAG” by Anne Applebaum and “The Iron Curtain. The Suppression of Eastern Europe (1946-1956)” by Ann Applbaum. As you can see, despite the difference in the spelling of the surname, this is the same author. Moreover, this is not just a world-renowned researcher, but also a winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Moreover, it was awarded just for the book “GULAG”, which is “capable of harming the national interests of the Republic of Belarus”.

However, the citizens of the country have something to read without it, and with undoubted benefit for themselves. In the same conversation with Evening Minsk, the deputy minister explained why the number of people wishing to purchase the book “Our President” dedicated to Alexander Lukashenko exceeded the originally planned circulation.

The official explained clearly, “The secret is very simple. The thing is that this book was written by direct eyewitnesses of the events. That is, it adheres to the principles of extreme accuracy of presentation and at the same time the absence of allegories. The team of authors used a huge amount of biographical and historical materials. One of the highlights is the availability of copies of Alexander Lukashenko’s personal documents. These are his student’s credit book, handwritten notes, and a certificate of commendation.… The level of graphic design is also very high. There are a large number of photographs taken over the years, including family ones. Many of them were not known to the general public until today. Moreover, in this book, Alexander Lukashenko is shown not only as the head of state, but also as a man who has a family. And the personal life of a person of this rank always arouses great interest. So all this has developed into an excellent documentary and biographical sketch. And there is something to compare it with. For example, I recently read a book about the leader of one of the CIS countries. The text there was also very good, but it was perceived more difficult due to the lack of rare photos and personal moments.”