Political persecution:
On 17 February 2026, the Bahdanovič family—spouses Alena and Vacłaŭ, along with their daughters Antanina and Viktoryja—was detained in Minsk for their activities at the Technalohija publishing house. While Alena and Antanina were later released, Vacłaŭ and Viktoryja, both authors of books in Belarusian, remain in custody.
According to human rights defenders, at least ten people were detained that day, including publishers, publishing house staff, and book distributors.
On 21 February 2026, following the detentions, the Technalohija publishing house announced the suspension of its activities.
On 3 March 2026, the KGB declared a non-existent “coalition of publishing houses” an “extremist formation.” In doing so, they arbitrarily included unrelated publishing houses and book distributors, such as Kamunikat.org, Lohvinau Publishing House, and Andrei Yanushkevich Publishing, all of which are notable Belarusian-language publishers.
As part of this “formation,” the list included publishers detained on 17 February—Zmicier Kołas, Vacłaŭ Bahdanovič, and Aleś Jaŭdacha—as well as Jarosław Iwaniuk, Ihar Łohvinaŭ, and Andrej Januškievič, who are currently abroad.
On 13 March 2026, Vacłaŭ Bahdanovič was recognised as a political prisoner.
Creative activity:
In 1988, he founded the publishing house Technalohija, which specialised in scientific, reference, educational, fiction, and non-fiction literature.
Publications:
Vacłaŭ Bahdanovič. Bahdanovičy. History of One Family. 2024.