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As of 31 March 2026, at least 127 cultural figures – including no fewer than 26 writers –were either imprisoned or under home confinement. The total number of banned books stood at 332.
Historian and tour guide Michaił Masalevič was sentenced to home confinement.
Natalla Dziadziula, an employee of the University of Culture, was also sentenced to home confinement.
Participants of the traditional spring celebration Hukannie viasny were detained in Homiel.
Zmicier Sańko, editor-in-chief of the publishing house Technalohija, was detained in Minsk.
It became known that the manuscripts of writer and public figure Pavieł Sieviaryniec were confiscated before his release from a penal colony.
It was reported that the authorities had cancelled the music festival “Festiwow” in Minsk.
The KGB has designated the online hub “Nacyja lidaraŭ” (The Nation of Leaders) as an “extremist formation.”
Two new books were added to the list of “extremist materials”.
Authorities plan to sell the real estate of writer, journalist, and human rights defender Uładzimir Chilmanovič.
I. Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors, and performers
1. On 24 March, it became known that historian and tour guide Michaił Masalevič was sentenced to home confinement under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity). The case is linked to the “Biełaruski Hajun” case – an independent monitoring project that tracked the movement of Russian troops and military equipment across the territory of Belarus.
2. On 31 March, it became known that Natalla Dziadziula, an employee of the University of Culture, was sentenced by the Minsk City Court to home confinement in a politically motivated criminal case. The charges were brought under Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred), as well as Parts 1 and 2 of Article 361-4 (facilitating extremist activity). The prosecution is reportedly linked to the “Biełaruski Hajun” case – an independent monitoring project that tracked the movement of Russian troops and military equipment across Belarus.
II. Detentions of cultural figures and participants of cultural events
1. On 21 March, participants of the traditional Belarusian spring ritual Hukannie viasny were detained in a closed courtyard of a restaurant in Homiel. Trials of some participants were held at a district police station, with judges brought in from courts in different districts of the city. As a result, one person was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest, while others received fines of 100 base units or more. Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences (violation of procedures for mass events) was used to prosecute Viktar Šypkoŭ, a decorated Police Major from the Homiel District Police Department who has spent years studying local history and folklore and received state awards, including the “For Spiritual Revival” prize, for his cultural contributions.
2. On 25 March, Zmicier Sańko was detained in Minsk. He had been detained in February and was again in March. Sańko is a Candidate of Biological Sciences, a linguist, and one of the founders of the Belarusian Language Society. Since 1995, he had worked as editor-in-chief of the publishing house Technalohija, which ceased operations following the arrests of publishers last February.
III. Confiscation of manuscripts in places of detention
On 21 March, it became known that prison authorities had confiscated manuscripts from writer, public figure, and former political prisoner Pavieł Sieviaryniec. These included the works: Belarusalim. Resurrection (the third book of the trilogy), The Tree of Life: Belarusian Quizzes, Belarus is Sacred, God is Here: 500 essays about towns and villages of Belarus, Belarusian Wonders: The Most Outstanding Phenomena of Belarusian History, Jesus Christ Speaks Belarusian. 33 Proofs, The Gene of the Trinity: The Phenomenon of Interfaith Harmony in Belarus, The Golden Age (a children’s fairy tale).
IV. Cancellation of cultural events
On 15 March, it was reported that the music festival “Festiwow” in Minsk had been cancelled. The festival had taken place at the Dynama stadium in 2024 and 2025, featuring artists and bands from CIS countries, including Saluki, Zoloto, Toxi$, Cream Soda, Moya Mišel, and Tri dnia dozhdia. Organisers stated that preparations were at an advanced stage, with contracts signed with artists and partners. They said, “We believed until the very last moment that we would receive permission to hold our festival, but unfortunately, the law is the law. This has been a major blow for us… Thank you for being with us these three years.”
Lately, several festivals in Belarus have been cancelled, including Lidbeer (held annually since 2015 in Lida), Wostrau in Niasviž and Soncastajannie in Pružany. The reasons are not publicly specified; organisers refer to circumstances beyond their control.
The cancellations are linked to the Resolution No. 454 of the Council of Ministers (2025), which requires organisers of cultural and entertainment events to be registered in a special state registry.
V. Designation of cultural organisations as “extremist formations”
On 20 March, the KGB designated the online hub “Nacyja lidaraŭ” (The Nation of Leaders) as an “extremist formation”. According to its website, the initiative “designs and supports educational initiatives and research projects aimed at strengthening civil society in Belarus. We help Belarusians develop skills necessary for building their lives and their country.”
VI. Banned books
Two new books were added to the list of “extremist materials”: Paveł Ancipaŭ’s Kuda-nibud prijezzhat (Mianie Niama, 2025) and Yuri Felshtinsky’s Natalla Radzina’s Belarus: Journalist vs Dictator (ISIA Media Verlag, 2025).
VII. Repression against Belarusian writers in exile
On 19 March, it became known that the enforcement department of Hrodna’s Leninski district had conducted an “independent valuation” of an apartment belonging to writer, journalist, and human rights defender Uładzimir Chilmanovič, with the intention of selling it to recover a large fine imposed under a criminal case.
Authorities have also put his confiscated country house in the Masty district up for auction. Earlier, all household appliances belonging to his family (refrigerator, television, washing machine) had been confiscated and sold.
On 19 August 2024, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Chilmanovič in absentia to five years in a medium-security penal colony and a fine of 1,000 base units or 40,000 BYN (13500 USD).