{"id":24255,"date":"2026-11-02T18:39:35","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T18:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=24255"},"modified":"2026-11-03T20:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:27:33","slug":"hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-15-31-kastrychnika-2026-goda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/11\/02\/hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-15-31-kastrychnika-2026-goda.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle of human rights violations in the sphere of culture (15-31 October 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

To report a violation (including confidentially) or to correct data presented in the report, please contact us at\u00a0dapamoha@penbelarus.org\u00a0or t.me\/viadoma.<\/em><\/p>\n

As of 31 October 2026, at least 115 cultural figures, including at least 19 writers, were either imprisoned or under home confinement. The number of banned books remained at 390.<\/b><\/p>\n

Political prisoner, poet and journalist <\/span>Dzi\u0430nis Iva\u0161yn<\/b> is believed to have been placed in a punishment cell.<\/span><\/p>\n

The health of imprisoned poet <\/span>Valery Pazniakievi\u010d<\/b> has deteriorated at an open-type correctional facility in Mahilo\u016d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local authorities in Kobryn have prohibited <\/span>Halloween<\/b> celebrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following social media accounts were designated as \u2018extremist information products\u2019: the Instagram page of cultural figure <\/span>Siarhiej Budkin<\/b>; the YouTube channel of former political prisoner and cultural journalist <\/span>Ja\u016dhien H\u0142u\u0161ko\u016d<\/b>; the Instagram page and Threads account of entertainer and writer <\/span>Dzi\u0430nis Dudzinski<\/b>; the Facebook page of actor <\/span>Vasil Ka\u0142a\u010d<\/b>; the Facebook page of former political prisoner and administrator of the \u2018Rezystans\u2019 Telegram channel <\/span>Mikita Slepi\u0430nok<\/b>; and the Facebook page of photographer and cultural manager <\/span>Julija Dara\u0161kievi\u010d<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following accounts were also designated as \u2018extremist information products\u2019: the Instagram page of the re-established <\/span>Ivan \u0141uckievi\u010d Belarusian Museum in Vilnius<\/b>; the Instagram page of <\/span>Belarusian House<\/b>; the Instagram page of <\/span>Belarusian Radio Racyja<\/b>; and the Facebook page of the <\/span>Bulba Ha\u040ese<\/b> creative space.<\/span><\/p>\n

The state-run newspaper <\/span>Litaratura i Mastactva<\/i><\/b> (Literature and Art) has ceased operation as a media outlet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
I. Conditions in places of incarceration<\/b><\/h5>\n

<\/b>1.<\/strong> Political prisoner, poet and journalist <\/span>Dzi\u0430nis Iva\u0161yn<\/b> missed his second scheduled telephone call. His wife, <\/span>Volha Iva\u0161yna<\/b>, believes that he may have been placed in a punishment cell. In 2024, Dzi\u0430nis Iva\u0161yn won the Franci\u0161ak Alachnovi\u010d Prize for the best literary work written in prison, for a cycle of prison poems.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>2.<\/strong> During his time behind bars in Mahilo\u016d, political prisoner and poet <\/span>Valery Pazniakievi\u010d<\/b> repeatedly lost consciousness because of heart problems and blood pressure fluctuations and sought medical assistance on numerous occasions.<\/span><\/p>\n

On 14 August 2025, the Minsk District Court sentenced Valery Pazniakievi\u010d under Part 2 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code (\u2018Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus\u2019) to three years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility.<\/span><\/p>\n

II. Censorship and cancellation of cultural entertainment events<\/b><\/h5>\n

On 27 October 2026, the Kobryn District Executive Committee in the Brest Region circulated a letter to the heads of cultural and entertainment establishments calling on them to refrain from celebrating <\/span>Halloween<\/b> and using Halloween-themed decorations and accessories, including pumpkins, cobwebs, masks on doors and themed clothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter also recommends removing all advertising for Halloween-themed events at these establishments from social media and promotional posters.<\/span><\/p>\n

III. Designation of social media accounts belonging to authors and cultural figures as \u201cextremist information products\u201d<\/b><\/h5>\n

<\/b>1.<\/strong> On 15 October, the Babrujsk District and City Court designated the Instagram page \u2018Siarhiej Budkin\u2019, belonging to cultural figure <\/span>Siarhiej Budkin<\/b>, as \u201can extremist information product\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>2.<\/strong> On 15 October, the Leninski District Court of Mahilo\u016d designated the YouTube channel \u2018Ja\u016dhien H\u0142u\u0161ko\u016d\u2019, belonging to former political prisoner, cinematographer and cultural journalist <\/span>Ja\u016dhien H\u0142u\u0161ko\u016d<\/b>, as \u201can extremist information product\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>3.<\/strong> On 21 October, the Horki District Court in the Mahilo\u016d Region designated the Instagram page \u2018denis_doudinski\u2019 and the Threads account \u2018denis_doudinski\u2019, belonging to entertainer and writer <\/span>Dzi\u0430nis Dudzinski<\/b>, as \u201cextremist information products\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>4.<\/strong> On 26 October, the Leninski District Court of Brest designated the Facebook page \u2018Mikita Slepianok\u2019, belonging to former political prisoner <\/span>Mikita Slepi\u0430nok<\/b>, as \u201cextremist information products\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2022, following Slepi\u0430nok\u2019s detention, the Telegram channel \u2018Rezystans\u2019, which he administered and which covered Belarusian history and culture, was designated an \u201cextremist formation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>5.<\/strong> On 27 October, the Leninski District Court of Brest designated the Facebook page \u2018Enrique de Salvaje\u2019, belonging to actor and promoter of Belarusian culture <\/span>Vasil Ka\u0142a\u010d<\/b>, as \u201can extremist information product\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>6.<\/strong> On 28 October, the Leninski District Court of Brest designated the Facebook page of photographer and cultural manager <\/span>Julija Dara\u0161kievi\u010d<\/b> as \u201can extremist information product\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

IV. Designation of social media accounts belonging to cultural initiatives and media outlets as \u201cextremist information products\u201d<\/b><\/h5>\n

<\/b>1.<\/strong> On 16 October, the A\u0161miany District Court in the Hrodna Region designated the Instagram page \u2018lutskevich_museum\u2019, belonging to the <\/span>Ivan \u0141uckievi\u010d Belarusian Museum<\/b> in Vilnius, as \u201cextremist information products\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>2.<\/strong> On 16 October 2026, the A\u0161miany District Court in the Hrodna Region designated the Instagram page \u2018bielaruskidom\u2019, belonging to <\/span>Belarusian House<\/b>, as \u201cextremist information products\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Belarusian House is an organisation that supports Belarusians in exile, promotes human rights and democratic values, and implements cultural and educational projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>3.<\/strong> On 22 October 2026, the Babrujsk District and City Court designated the Instagram page of <\/span>Belarusian Radio Racyja<\/b> (account @racyja) as \u201cextremist information products\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Belarusian Radio Racyja is an independent media outlet covering news from the Bia\u0142ystok region and Belarus, with a strong focus on culture and literature.<\/span><\/p>\n

On 16 January 2024, the KGB designated Belarusian Radio Racyja an \u2018extremist formation\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>4.<\/strong> On 27 October, the Leninski District Court of Brest designated the Facebook page of the \u2018<\/span>Bulba Ha\u040ese<\/b>\u2019 creative space as \u201cextremist information products\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

V. Closure and reduction in publication frequency of official Belarusian-language literary periodicals<\/b><\/h5>\n

<\/b>1.<\/strong> On 22 October, it emerged that the state-run newspaper <\/span>Litaratura i Mastactva<\/i><\/b> (LiM)<\/i><\/b> (Literature and Art) would cease to exist as a print publication and become a supplement to the newspaper \u2018Zviazda\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

This became apparent from Belposhta\u2019s new subscription catalogue, in which <\/span>LiM<\/span><\/i> is no longer available as a separate subscription.<\/span><\/p>\n

The newspaper <\/span>Litaratura i Mastactva<\/span><\/i> was founded in 1932.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>2.<\/strong> On 22 October, Belposhta\u2019s new subscription catalogue revealed that the state literary and arts magazines <\/span>Po\u0142ymia<\/i><\/b>, <\/span>Ma\u0142ados\u0107<\/i><\/b> and <\/span>Nioman<\/i><\/b> would reduce their publication frequency from monthly (12 issues per year) to two issues every six months.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Disclaimer: Belarusian personal names and proper names<\/h2>\n

Personal names<\/b><\/h5>\n

Personal names and surnames in this text are rendered using the traditional <\/span>Belarusian Latin alphabet <\/b>\u0141acinka<\/span><\/a>. We also provide their equivalents according to the current <\/span>Instruction on the Transliteration of Surnames and Given Names of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus<\/span><\/a>. Where direct access to official identity documents is unavailable, the transliterated forms of names may differ from the spellings used in official passport records.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nBelarusian \u0141acinka<\/b><\/td>\nOfficial transliteration (since 23.10.2008)<\/b><\/td>\nOther known spellings<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dzi\u0430nis Dudzinski<\/span><\/td>\nDzi\u0430nis Dudzinski<\/span><\/td>\nDenis Doudinski\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dzi\u0430nis Iva\u0161yn<\/span><\/td>\nDzi\u0430nis Ivashyn<\/span><\/td>\nDzyanis Ivashyn<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Franci\u0161ak Alachnovi\u010d\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\nFrantsishak Alyakhnovich<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ivan \u0141uckievi\u010d\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ja\u016dhien H\u0142u\u0161ko\u016d<\/span><\/td>\nJawgien Glushkow<\/span><\/td>\nYauhen Hlushkou<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Julija Dara\u0161kievi\u010d<\/span><\/td>\nJulija Darashkievich<\/span><\/td>\nJulia Darashkevich<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mikita Slepianok<\/span><\/td>\nMikita Slepianok<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Siarhiej Budkin\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nSiargiej Budkin<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Valery Pazniakievi\u010d<\/span><\/td>\nValery Pazniakievich<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vasil Ka\u0142a\u010d<\/span><\/td>\nVasil Kalach<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Volha Iva\u0161yna<\/span><\/td>\nVolga Ivashyna<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Toponyms<\/b><\/h5>\n

Geographical names in this text are rendered using the traditional <\/span>Belarusian Latin alphabet <\/b>\u0141acinka<\/span><\/a>. We also provide their equivalents according to the current <\/span>Instruction on Rendering the Names of Geographical Features from Belarusian and Russian into Other Languages and on Transliteration of the Names of Geographical Features into the Latin Alphabet<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Belarusian \u0141acinka<\/b><\/td>\nOfficial transliteration (since 23.10.2008)<\/b><\/td>\nOther known spellings<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A\u0161miany\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nAshmiany<\/span><\/td>\nAshmyany<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Babrujsk<\/span><\/td>\nBabrujsk<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Horki\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nGorki\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hrodna<\/span><\/td>\nGrodna<\/span><\/td>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kobryn<\/span><\/td>\nKobryn<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Leninski (district)<\/span><\/td>\nLeninski<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahilo\u016d<\/span><\/td>\nMagiliow<\/span><\/td>\nMahilo\u016d \/ Mahiliou \/ Mahilyow<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Proper names of organisations, projects, etc.\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n

The names of Belarusian organisations, projects and similar entities in this text are rendered using the traditional <\/span>Belarusian Latin alphabet <\/b>\u0141acinka<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Belarusian \u0141acinka<\/b><\/td>\nOfficial transliteration<\/b><\/td>\nOther known spellings<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bie\u0142po\u0161ta<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\nBelposhta<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Litaratura i Mastactva (newspaper)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\nLiM, Literature and Art<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ma\u0142ados\u0107 (art magazin)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\nMa\u0142ado\u015b\u0107<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nioman (art magazin)\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Po\u0142ymia (art magazin)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\nPolymja<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zviazda (newspaper)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\nZvyazda<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To report a violation (including confidentially) or to correct data presented in the report, please contact us at\u00a0dapamoha@penbelarus.org\u00a0or t.me\/viadoma. As of 31 October 2026, at least 115 cultural figures, including at least 19 writers, were either imprisoned or under home confinement. The number of banned books remained at 390. Political prisoner, poet and journalist Dzi\u0430nis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":24266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4255],"tags":[4291,4285],"class_list":["post-24255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-right","tag-chronicle","tag-hronika"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24255"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24268,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24255\/revisions\/24268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}