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As of 30 April 2026, at least 122 cultural figures, including at least 25 writers, were either imprisoned or under home confinement. The number of banned books remained at 336.
In regions across Belarus, police detained people participating in cultural initiatives.
The KGB has designated several cultural initiatives as “extremist”.
The online media outlet Reform.news was labelled an “extremist formation”.
The Instagram page of cultural promoter and former political prisoner Uładzimir Bułaŭski was declared “extremist”.
The Threads account of journalist and non-fiction writer Rusłan Kulevič was designated as “extremist”.
Human rights defender and former political prisoner Valancin Stefanovič reported that in penal colonies, the use of the Belarusian language could lead to the termination of phone calls with relatives or placement in a punishment cell.
The international festival of traditional culture “Brasłaŭskija zarnicy” was cancelled.
I. Detentions of cultural figures
On 23 April, mass detentions of people participating in cultural initiatives took place across various regions of Belarus. In Navapołack, 12 women were detained. Some were transferred to a pre-trial detention centre in Viciebsk, while others were interrogated in Navapołack. Police searched their homes. Eight of those detained were later released. One woman was found to be subscribed to independent information resources; she was held in custody for three days and fined. Three women were detained in Barysaŭ, and several others in Słonim, Brest, and Žodzina.
These detentions followed the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ decision on 9 April to designate several cultural initiatives as an “extremist formation”. This decision was publicly announced on 24 April, after the detentions had already taken place.
II. Violation of the right to use a native language in places of detention
On 30 April, human rights defender and former political prisoner Valancin Stefanovič reported that in penal colonies, the use of the Belarusian language could result in the termination of phone calls with relatives or placement in a punishment cell. He said,
“I did not consistently use the Belarusian language for a number of reasons. In the colony, calls with relatives could be cut off for this, and one could even be sent to a punishment cell. However, in pre-trial detention and in ‘closed’ prisons, the situation was easier. I wrote letters home in Belarusian, and the censor allowed them through.”
III. Designation of human rights, educational and cultural organisations as “extremist”
1. On 24 April, it became known that the KGB had designated several cultural initiatives as “extremist”, including the Belarusian Council for Culture (BCC), as well as projects such as Mahistrat, Vasminoh, ArtPower Belarus, the Belarusian Council for Culture Foundation, and Inšyja (The Others). These initiatives and projects had been classified as “extremist formations” on 9 April, although they were added to the official list only later.
2. On 29 April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs designated the online media outlet Reform.news as an “extremist formation”. The outlet has extensively covered Belarusian culture and repression in the cultural sphere.
IV. Designation of cultural figures’ social media accounts as “extremist”
1. On 23 April, the Leninski District Court of Hrodna declared the Facebook page of designer Uładzimir Malaŭka “extremist”.
2. On 24 April, it became known that the Čyhunačny District Court of Viciebsk had designated the Instagram page of cultural promoter and former political prisoner Uładzimir Bułaŭski as “extremist”.
3. On the same day, the Central District Court of Homiel declared the social media accounts of the LVS language school “extremist”. The school, based in Poland, provides instruction in six languages, and its social media pages focus on teaching staff, curricula, courses, and their promotion.
4. On 27 April 2026, the Baranavičy District Court designated the Threads account of journalist and non-fiction writer Rusłan Kulevič as “extremist”. Previously, Kulevič’s personal social media accounts, his project Most Media, and his YouTube channel “We Will Return” had already been labelled as “extremist materials” and an “extremist formation”.
V.Cancellation of cultural events
On 16 April, it was reported that the Brasłaŭ District Executive Committee had cancelled the International Festival of Traditional Culture “Brasłaŭskija zarnicy”. Held since 1967, the festival acquired international status in 2009. It featured performers from various regions of Belarus, as well as from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Estonia.