Liliya Ananich, chair of the Republican Commission for the Evaluation of Symbols, Attributes and Information Products, summed up the commission’s work over the past year and announced new bans.
At present, the national list of “extremist materials” includes more than 9,000 resources, while the list of printed publications banned from distribution contains 225 titles. Of these, 190 were added in 2025.
According to Ananich, regional commissions reviewed 470 items over the year. Signs of “extremism” were identified in 456 cases, and signs of rehabilitation of Nazism in four cases. Last year, 171 printed publications were added to the national list of extremist publications, with 140 found to contain signs of inciting religious hatred, BelTA reports.
Ananich explained the banning of books as a defence of Belarus’s sovereignty.
“Our country is a genuine example of a state of social justice, interethnic and interconfessional peace, and traditional values. These values and our approaches do not fit into the globalist order being imposed on the world. Of course, we defend our distinctiveness, because this is the defence of the sovereignty and independence of Belarus,” Ananich said.
The official explained that the commission helps identify propaganda of non-traditional values, signs of inciting discord, propaganda of subcultures incompatible with traditional values, and described how the commission operates.
“Today, the commission’s work is based on an extensive research foundation. The commission includes not only representatives of state administration bodies and security agencies, but also recognised and authoritative specialists in law, philosophy, psychology and linguistics, who have both extensive practical experience and a vast body of academic knowledge. When necessary, the commission makes requests to academic institutions and профильные and other bodies in order to make informed and well-grounded decisions when reviewing such publications,” Ananich said.
Ananich stressed that distributors of printed publications must have “clear state guidelines.”
According to her, publications with “alien” values appear rarely in Belarus, and are mainly imported literature and translations of Western authors.
The commission chair announced new bans.
“New items for evaluation will be reviewed by the commission. I think that this destructive field, unfortunately, will expand. On the other hand, we see that the orientation of distributors and the systematic work of state bodies with their entities is bearing fruit. Although today it would be wrong to say that everything has been done. This would be incorrect, because the confrontation is intensifying and gaining momentum. We all know that mental aggression is an integral part of the hybrid war being waged against our country and against countries similar to ours that want to develop sovereignly and build their own lives,” Ananich said.
The list of books banned from distribution in Belarus includes 225 works, ranging from children’s books such as “Where Do Children Come From” and “Our Neighbours on the Planet. Stories About Wild Animals” to well-known novels by William Burroughs and Irvine Welsh.
Last week, security forces carried out raids against Belarusian publishers and book distributors. The Bogdanovich family, linked to the Tekhnalogiya publishing house, was detained. The Gutenberg Publisher publishing house was designated an “extremist formation.”
