1984 is Banned in Belarus, Bookstore Owner Detained for Carrying It (2023)

Belarus, an Eastern European country bordering Russia and Ukraine, has banned the sale of 1984 by George Orwell as of May 19, 2022. While the book was written in 1949, it was not translated into Belarusian until 1992, and it was republished in Belarus by Yanushkevich Publishing House in 2020.

Yanushkevich Publishing House recently opened a bookstore in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. They were visited by pro-government journalists, and later police, who confiscated 200 books (including from their apartment) and detained the publishers, Andrei Yanushkevich and Nasta Karnatskaya.

The publishing company had previously had equipment confiscated by the government and had also had their bank account blocked. It is currently unknown whether they are facing charges or what those charges are.

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