"The Battle for Belarus": A New Report on the Systematic Destruction of National Identity
- Admin of the NAM
- May 7
- 2 min read
During the night of 6 to 7 May 2026, a hacker attack was carried out against the Belarusian online library Kamunikat.org. The library's servers were simply wiped clean. They contained more than 70,000 various Belarusian publications — books, newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, video and audio materials about Belarus. This is yet another dark page in the Lukashenko regime's war against Belarusian identity.
As part of its support for the work of the Office for National Revival of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM) recently published a brief review dedicated to the regime's policy of eradicating Belarusian culture and promoting the ideology of the "Russian world."
This review was presented at the side event "How the Russian World Works: The Ideology and Practice of Hybrid Aggression against Europe" during the spring session of PACE in April 2026.
What is this review about?
The authors draw a chilling parallel: what is happening in Belarus after 2020 essentially replicates the processes taking place in the occupied territories of Ukraine, but on a more concealed scale. This is a systematic effort to replace Belarusian identity with a "Russian world" narrative.
The main fronts of this "battle":
Banning literature: Books by classical and contemporary authors have been added to the list of "extremist materials." Leading independent publishing houses have been liquidated.
War on history: Monuments to national heroes are being dismantled while monuments to Russian figures such as Alexander Nevsky are being erected in their place.
Repression in culture: Attacks on cultural projects, the closure of exhibitions and festivals, and the Russification of theatres.
Assault on the Belarusian vision of the past and present: Persecution of editors of the Belarusian Wikipedia and the introduction of "unified history textbooks" jointly with Russia.
Suppression of the language: In 1994, 58% of Minsk first-graders were taught in the Belarusian language; this figure has now fallen to a critical 5%.
How does the mechanism of destruction work?
The process is triggered through denunciations by pro-Russian "pseudo-activists" and is then taken up by propagandists and security forces.
What is to be done?
The report offers not only a diagnosis but also a rescue plan:
— Creation of an online national education system accredited in the EU. — Large-scale digitisation of archives and libraries on secured servers. — Support for cultural figures and language schools in the diaspora.
Belarusian identity is the principal barrier to the country's absorption. To preserve it is to preserve the chance of an independent future.
The full text of the report is available at the link below.
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