Фота: "Свабода".
“I see no reason why the state would suddenly start investing heavily in literature and Belarusian-language publications today, even if they are loyal and toothless,” says Tsikhan Charnyakevich, editor-in-chief of Bellit.info, press secretary of the International Union of Belarusian Writers and literary critic, commenting on another round of cuts to Belarusian-language periodicals.
Nasha Niva reported that Belarusian state literary magazines will be published three times less frequently from 2027, while the newspaper “Litaratura i Mastatstva” (“LiM”) will cease to exist as an independent publication. According to Belposhta’s subscription catalogue for the first half of 2027, the magazines “Polymia,” “Maladosts” and “Nioman,” previously published monthly, will appear only twice — in February and April. Subscriptions to “LiM” are no longer available.
Reform.news contacted Tsikhan Charnyakevich, who previously worked on the editorial teams of “Maladosts” and “LiM,” and asked whether these developments should be seen as a sign that the state regards Belarusian literature as a threat (despite the loyalty of the pro-government writers’ union), or simply as routine cuts to publications that lack funding.
According to the expert, the cuts to literary magazines are part of a broader reduction in funding for Belarusian culture and the humanities.
“Overall, I see this as connected to the cuts at the Academy of Sciences that took place this year. Very soon, many academic institutes will cease to exist as independent institutions, particularly in the humanities. The reduction in funding for literary publications is part of the same trend. Their level of support was already low, and now an even stricter austerity regime has apparently been introduced in the state-funded segment of Belarusian culture,” Charnyakevich says.
The critic adds that, against this backdrop, the recent opening of a representative office of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Minsk appears entirely natural:
“I would not be surprised if branches of Russian magazine editorial offices soon appeared in those very same offices.”
Tsikhan Charnyakevich stresses that the process of restructuring literary media has been underway for more than 20 years and has involved continuous reorganizations.
“Both ‘LiM’ and the magazines have been dismantled for quite some time. In 2002, they lost their independence; in 2012, they were incorporated into ‘Zviazda,’ and later into the ‘Mastatskaya Litaratura’ publishing house. There have been another dozen or so takeovers, closures, mergers and reshuffles. It feels like some favorite shell game of Ales Karliukevich, who has been running everything there for who knows how many years. In other words, there have been constant attempts to demonstrate that cuts are being made and money is being saved,” the critic explains.
However, after 2020, the administrative cost-cutting was compounded by a collapse in readership.
“At the same time, the substantial exodus of writers abroad and the serious damage to the reputation of all state publications after 2020 have further reduced these magazines’ readership. Meanwhile, the benefits of compulsory institutional subscriptions largely go to ‘SB’ and district-level and trade union publications,” the literary scholar emphasizes.
The expert’s conclusion points to a systemic problem: under current conditions, even complete loyalty on the part of editors and authors will not save Belarusian-language projects from decline.
“I see no reason why the state would suddenly start investing heavily in literature and Belarusian-language publications today, even if they are loyal and toothless. With the drive to become ‘Russians with a quality mark,’ this is an entirely inevitable process,” he concludes.