Belarusian PEN has published a new analytical report summarizing the state of Belarusian culture in the first quarter of 2026.

In Belarus, the politically motivated persecution of cultural figures, the criminalization of cultural activities in general, and literary work in particular continue. The release of another group of political prisoners, made possible through the mediation of the U.S. government in negotiations with the Lukashenka regime, took place against the backdrop of new arrests.

Among the high-profile repressions in the cultural sphere was unprecedented pressure on independent publishers and book distributors: detentions, interrogations, administrative arrests, and criminal prosecution; the suspension of the activities of the Minsk-based publishing house “Tekhnalogiya”; and the designation as “extremist formations” of the Kamunikat.org foundation, as well as the publishing houses “Gutenberg Publisher”, “Lohvinau”, and “Januskevic”, which legally publish Belarusian books abroad.

A number of other major cultural initiatives faced a similar fate. Among those designated as “extremist formations” was Belarusian PEN, the country’s oldest human rights organization uniting writers.

Criminal prosecution and administrative pressure affected a wide range of cultural representatives: the sentencing of Aleh Khamenka — musician, composer, and leader of the folk-modern band “Palac” — to three years in a penal colony for producing music radio programs; detentions at the Minsk cultural space “Parason”; administrative prosecution for participation in the traditional Belarusian rite of Hukanne Viasny; the appearance of new names on performer blacklists; and a wave of cancellations of major annual music festivals.

Read the full article on Criminalization of Cultural Activities Continues in Belarus”: Monitoring of Cultural Rights Violations for January–March Published