Belarus: Free Expression in the Face of Repression

Belarusian independent publishing houses from the 90s, due to the language policy of Lukashenka's regime, had to compete with Russian ones, whose resources were incomparably greater. Due to that, Belarusian writers were deprived of the opportunity to appeal to a mass readership. Despite these problems, they were able to gradually expand their circle of readers and in some cases managed to engage a European audience.

But after 2020, the unfair competition is complemented by direct repressions against the participants of the protests against election falsification. If they did not end up behind bars, Belarusian writers were forced to go underground (not everyone can leave) or go abroad. From that position, they make efforts to resume their activities and maintain connections with Belarusian citizens scattered in different countries. What does it mean to renew working as a writer or publisher from abroad? What kind of networks can they use to find distribution? Is it possible to discuss Belarusian literature not from the position of the victim, not as a political statement, but from the perspective of literary qualities and messages?

This event is organized by the Belarusian Book Institute and Frankfurt Book Fair, in cooperation with dekoder.org. The discussion will take place in Belarusian and English.

For this event, people with hearing aids or cochlear implants can borrow portable induction loops that connect to the translation system receivers. Translation will be provided into English and German. The induction slings are available at the particular stage without prior registration.

Livestream of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvGqCMUpVmA(opens in a new window)