As of 31 July 2025, at least 158 cultural figures, including 39 writers, were not free – either imprisoned or in home confinement.
Librarian Nastassia Trubčyk-Dzivakova was convicted in a politically motivated criminal case.
In Brest, designer Dzmitry Caruk was arrested on politically motivated charges.
Artist Aksana Šalapina was arrested in connection with a politically motivated criminal case.
At Penal Colony No. 15 in Mahiloŭ, “undesirable” books were reportedly burned on the orders of the administration.
The book From Dictatorship to Democracy (1993) by Gene Sharp and Burned Villages: Crimes of National Socialism Against the Rural Population in Poland and the Soviet Union During the Second World War (2024) were officially declared “extremist materials”.
The educational platform Belarusian Academy was designated as an “extremist formation”.
The pages of the media project ChinChinChannel were labelled as “extremist materials”.
A court designated the jewellery brand Belaruskicry as “extremist formation”.
The YouTube channels of the blogger Grey Cat (Šery Kot) were classified as “extremist materials”.
I.Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors, and performers
1. On 22 July, it was reported that librarian Nastassia Trubčyk-Dzivakova had been convicted in a politically motivated criminal case under Article 342 of the Criminal Code for her participation in the peaceful protests of 2020. It is presumed that she was sentenced to home confinement (a form of restricted liberty without placement in a correctional facility).
2. On 28 July, news emerged of the arrest of designer Dzmitry Caruk in Brest. After spending three days in a temporary detention centre, he was transferred to Pre-Trial Detention Centre No. 7 in Brest. It is assumed that he is facing charges under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity).
3. On 30 July, it was confirmed that on 24 June, artist Aksana Šalapina was arrested in Minsk in connection with a criminal case under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity) for providing support to political prisoners. Aksana Šalapina’s paintings are held in private collections in the United States and across several European countries.
II. Conditions in the places of incarceration
On 31 July, it was reported that “undesirable” books had been incinerated at Penal Colony No. 15 in Mahiloŭ on the orders of the administration. The information was shared with human rights defenders by former political prisoner Daniła Čul, who feared that a new criminal case could be brought against him over a Polish-language phrasebook in his possession.
“I remember thinking I’d be convicted under Article 411 of the Criminal Code. There was a period when large numbers of so-called undesirable books were being confiscated from everyone: programming manuals, textbooks, language guides, psychology and psychiatry books. You could send them to your personal storage, to your belongings, or donate them to the library – we were told they would be added to the Mahiloŭ library’s holdings. But some books, such as those by Sapolsky, were burned in the boiler room. That’s because those books explain things very clearly, and they make you think critically. I had a Polish-language phrasebook, and a month before that, we had been told that if anyone was found with materials in any language other than English, they would be charged under Article 411 of the Criminal Code.”
III.Designation of cultural initiatives as “extremist materials”
1. On 18 July, the YouTube channels Šery Kot and Šery Kot Streams, belonging to political prisoner and blogger Zmicier Kazłoŭ (alias Grey Cat), were officially designated as “extremist materials”. Kazłoŭ has been imprisoned since 10 June 2020. His channels feature a significant amount of cultural content, including a meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate, writer and human rights defender Aleś Bialacki, the opening of an art exhibition and the presentation of Aleś Puškin’s book Prison Album, as well as coverage of efforts to protect Kurapaty, a site of mass executions during the USSR era.
2. On 22 July, the State Security Committee (KGB) added the educational platform Belarusian Academy to its list of “extremist formations”. The project was founded in October 2020 by Śviatłana Kul-Silvierstava, a Doctor of History and poet. Belarusian Academy is a distance learning platform offering instruction in both Belarusian and Russian, in line with the Bologna Process. Graduates receive European-format higher education diplomas.
3. On 25 July, the social media pages of the project ChinChinChannel, created by former actors of the Janka Kupała Theatre, were declared “extremist materials”.
4. On 23 July, Minsk’s Partyzanski District Court designated the jewellery brand Belaruskicry as an “extremist formation”. It was also reported that customer data had been leaked. The brand was founded by a Belarusian designer who fled to Georgia after the 2020 protests. Its most popular item is a pendant titled Belarus with a Tear. In an unofficial Telegram channel, police officers warned that a criminal case would be opened against every customer who places a new order.
IV.Repression in the publishing sector
1. On 25 July, the book From Dictatorship to Democracy (1993) by political scientist Gene Sharp, which explores methods of nonviolent resistance to dictatorship, was declared “extremist material”.
2. On 28 July, the Central District Court of Minsk added the book Burned Villages: Crimes of National Socialism Against Rural Populations in Poland and the Soviet Union During the Second World War to the Republican List of Extremist Materials. Edited by Florian Wieler and Frédéric Bonnesseur in collaboration with Sibylle Suchan-Floss, the book was published in 2024 and documents Nazi atrocities on the territory of Poland and the Soviet Union.
V. Repression in the music field
On 25 July, the song Belarus by Karniej Tarasaŭ was officially designated as “extremist material”.