As of 30 June 2025, at least 156 cultural figures, including 38 writers, were not free – either imprisoned or in home confinement.
Aleh Chamienka, the leader of the folk-modern band Pałac, lecturer, composer, cultural promoter, and producer, was detained in Minsk.
Volha Sitnik (also known as Homelka), administrator of the Belarusian Wikipedia, has been in prison since 8 May due to a politically motivated case.
Maksim Lepušenka, editor and contributor to the Belarusian Wikipedia, is being held in pre-trial detention centre No. 1 under politically motivated criminal charges.
Ivan (Jan) Marozaŭ, a Wikipedia contributor, was detained again under Article 368 of the Criminal Code (insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus).
English teacher Alena Brazinskaja was convicted in a politically motivated criminal trial under Article 342 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order).
In Hłybokaje, researcher Pavieł Łaŭrynovič, who studies repressions against Orthodox priests, is facing criminal prosecution.
Dance coach Alaksandra (Aleksa) Ašurka was convicted under Article 342 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order).
Historian and head of the “Mindoŭh” club, Aleh Zielanko, was convicted under Article 361-4 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity).
A road sign indicating “The sites of mass executions of victims of political repression in Kurapaty, 1930–1940” has disappeared.
I. Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors, and performers
1. Volha Sitnik, the administrator of the Belarusian Wikipedia (also known as Homelka), has been in prison since 8 May under politically motivated charges. On that day, she was sentenced to ten days of administrative arrest. Volha Sitnik is the mother of three underage children. Since 2009, she has written Wikipedia articles on Belarusian traditional culture and nature. Volha was detained for the first time on 17 April 2025.
2. On 16 June, information emerged about the politically motivated sentence for Alena Brazinskaja, an English teacher and tutor at the “Čystaja hramatyka” language centre. She was convicted under Article 342 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order).
3. On 20 June, it was reported that Pavieł Łaŭrynovič, a local history researcher from Hłybokaje, came under criminal prosecution. He studied the church life in the Hłybokaje district, participated in editing church directories and books about new martyrs killed by communists and Nazis. He was convicted under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order)
4. On 24 June, it was reported that dance coach Alaksandra (Aleksa) Ašurka was convicted under Article 342 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order).
5. In June, information emerged that Maksim Lepušenka, an editor and contributor to the Belarusian Wikipedia, was being held in pre-trial detention centre No. 1 under politically motivated charges. He writes about history, culture, literature, and biographies of contemporary Belarusian writers. Maksim was detained in Minsk on 15 May 2025 and charged under Article 342 (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order). On 17 June 2025, he was recognised as a political prisoner.
6. In June 2025, it was reported that Wikipedia contributor Ivan (Jan) Marozaŭ was detained under Article 368 (insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus) and placed in pre-trial detention centre No. 1. On 28 April 2023, Minsk’s Pieršamajski District Court sentenced him to one and a half years in a minimum-security penal colony under Article 342 (Part 1) (organising, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order) for taking part in peaceful protests against the falsification of the 2020 election results. He served his sentence at Correctional Colony No. 17 and was released on 17 April 2024.
7. On 29 June, information emerged that historian and head of the Mindoŭh club, Aleh Zielanko, was imprisoned under politically motivated charges. In December 2024, he was twice punished under Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (distribution of extremist materials). In 2025, the Brest Regional Court convicted him under Article 361-4 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity).
II. Detentions
On 30 June, reports emerged that Aleh Chamienka, leader of the folk-modern band Pałac, lecturer, composer, cultural promoter, and producer, was detained in Minsk. It remains unknown whether his detention occurred under an administrative or criminal case.
III. Destruction of memorial sites
A road sign marking the location “The sites of mass executions of victims of political repression in the Kurapaty forest (1930–1940)” has disappeared near Minsk. Kurapaty is a site of mass executions during Stalin’s regime. Since 1993, it has been in the State List of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Belarus.