The Lukashenko regime's struggle against Belarusian culture has reached an unprecedented scale
- Admin of the NAM
- Jun 26
- 8 min read
Theses of speech by Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Member of the Coordination Council Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Pavel Latushka, on the issue of Belarusian culture at the meeting of the PACE Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media.
For decades, Lukashenko has fought against Belarusian culture, but today this struggle has reached an unprecedented scale. Culture has now become one of the primary targets of political repression in Belarus. It also serves as the main arena for Russia's hybrid war against Belarus, the goal of which is the reformatting of Belarusian identity. Similar processes are currently unfolding in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia.
The entire structure of the illegitimate regime in Belarus is infiltrated by Moscow’s agents of influence. The process is initiated by pro-Kremlin pseudo-activists who file politically motivated complaints against any manifestations of national identity. Security forces and propagandists then use these complaints as a pretext for repression, while the entire process is overseen by Russian ideologues, backed by financial support from Russian foundations and under the direct supervision of the Russian Embassy in Minsk.
Against the backdrop of repressions against Belarusian culture, Russian artists, events, and professionals are flooding the cultural sphere in Belarus, which has been 'cleared' of Belarusian specialists and initiatives. The Kremlin's efforts regarding Belarus are aimed at dismantling national identity and fostering a sense of belonging to Russian culture. This acts as a preparation for a potential annexation of Belarus, ensuring that Belarusian society responds to it with loyalty.
“Repression in Belarus has evolved beyond targeting political activists to encompass a systematic restructuring of cultural space, education, language use and historical narratives. Belarusian cultural and national identity and linguistic affiliation are increasingly treated as markers of political opposition,” emphasizes the report by Nils Muižnieks, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, published as part of the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The recent mass releases of political prisoners have taken place in parallel with targeted repressions against cultural figures: law enforcement agencies are methodically targeting individuals who had contacts with specific cultural organizations operating abroad, while also focusing their efforts on particular cultural sectors. According to the Belarusian PEN Centre, at least 117 representatives of the cultural sphere are currently imprisoned (including Pavel Belavus, founder of Symbal.by and the 'Godna' company, and Aleh Khamenka, musician, radio host, lecturer, composer, producer, and leader of the band 'Palac'), held in open-type correctional institutions, or serving politically motivated 'home confinement' sentences.
On July 11, 2023, the political prisoner and artist Ales Pushkin died in a Hrodna prison.
As of 2026, there is not a single language school remaining in Belarus where foreigners can study the Belarusian language. Projects that popularize Belarusian culture and history are subjected to targeted harassment by propagandists. Under this pressure, even pro-regime yet Belarusian-language initiatives are being forced to close. Arrests of participants in cultural projects remain ongoing.
In 2024–2025, a systemic hunt was launched against editors and administrators of the Belarusian-language Wikipedia. As a result of repressions and criminal cases, the number of new articles in the Belarusian language within this online encyclopedia has dropped to a historic low.
Since 2020, the Lukashenko regime has liquidated more than 260 organizations operating within the cultural sector or having a cultural component to their activities. According to monitoring data provided by the Belarusian PEN Centre, the names of at least 428 cultural figures and workers who were dismissed for political reasons following the 2020 events in Belarus are known.
Almost all cultural institutions established by Belarusians abroad have also been designated as “extremist formations” (such as Free Belarus Museum, 'Volnyja Kupalaŭcy', 'Budzma Belarusami', 'Inshya', and others). This means that if citizens inside Belarus watch their projects or materials, or visit them while abroad, they face political criminal prosecution."
In Belarus, theatrical productions are being canceled, and Belarusian-language theaters are undergoing forced Russification. Artistic directors from the Russian Federation have been appointed to lead Belarusian theaters, replacing the dismissed specialists in more than five instances. In the country’s leading Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre, where I previously served as General Director, a Russian director has been appointed, and Russian actors are being recruited into the troupe. This has happened to what was, until recently, the only fully Belarusian-language theater in Belarus.
The absolute majority of leading state theaters and all independent theaters in the country have been subjected to repression, censorship, or personnel purges. From the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater alone, 58 people were dismissed, including 36 actors—nearly the entire troupe.
Festivals and exhibitions are banned based on politically motivated complaints. The state’s monopolization of the cultural space—particularly the mandatory permit requirement for organizing events—creates ideal conditions for corruption and censorship.
The leading independent Belarusian publishing houses (such as 'Yanushkevich' and 'Knigazbor') have been completely liquidated within the territory of Belarus. In February 2026, a new wave of searches and arrests of publishers and distributors took place. The largest publishing houses (including Gutenberg Publisher, Lohvinau, and others) have been designated as “extremist.”' In addition, the European Humanities University in Vilnius has also been declared an “extremist organization,” triggering a wave of searches and arrests targeting its current and former students.
The works of Belarusian historians (such as Z. Shybeka and V. Lastouski) and masterpieces by classic authors (including V. Dunin-Marcinkievich, L. Heniyush, N. Arsenieva, and V. Niakliaeu) have been included in the lists of “extremist materials.” At the demand of state propagandists, Uladzimir Karatkievich’s prominent novel “Kalasy pad siarpom tvaim” was removed from the school program.
For political reasons, the regime’s Ministry of Information has banned the distribution of 258 books, including fiction, history, and political science literature. Meanwhile, the courts, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the KGB have blacklisted over 9,000 items — such as websites, social media pages, and print publications — as so-called “extremist materials.”
Between 2019 and 2024, the number of book titles published in the Belarusian language within Belarus dropped from 1,271 to 893, while the total print run experienced a sharp decline of nearly 700,000 copies.
In 2022, the Council on Historical Policy was established, and the repressive law “On the Genocide of the Belarusian People” was adopted to criminally prosecute dissent against state-sponsored myths. More than 50 historians have been dismissed or forced out of the country. During 2024–2025, Moscow and Minsk agreed on the introduction of unified history textbooks for the so-called “Union State” for the 2026–2027 academic years; within these textbooks, the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is labeled as a “period of severe hardship”, but the era of the Russian Empire is Presented as an “epoch of peace and modernization.” The Belarusian People's Republic — the first Belarusian national democratic state, established in 1918 — is being absolutely erased from the historical narrative.
Between 2023 and 2025, monuments and memorials honoring national heroes—such as Tadeusz Kościuszko, Kastuś Kalinoŭski, and Larysa Heniyush—were dismantled across the country. In place of Belarusian heroes, monuments dedicated to figures of Russian history are being installed in Minsk and other cities, including an 11-meter monument to Alexander Nevsky.
Since 2023, a strict political certification process for tour guides has been introduced. Guides are arrested right in the middle of their tours for using the Belarusian language or providing "incorrect" historical assessments. The Belarusian Latin alphabet (Lacinka) has been absolutely eliminated from urban infrastructure. On public transport (for example, in Hrodna and Maladziechna), audio announcements in the Belarusian language are being canceled. As of today, only 1.4% of regulatory acts in the country are published in Belarusian.
In 1994, 58% of first-graders in Minsk studied in the Belarusian language; by 1999, this number had dropped to 5.3%. By 2023, only 10% of schoolchildren nationwide were being educated in their native language, predominantly in rural schools that are now being closed down. Belarusian-language gymnasiums in the regions are being forcibly converted to Russian.
The Belarusian language used to be viewed as the language of the opposition. Today, however, Lukashenko sees it as an element of resistance against his power. Many Belarusians do not speak Belarusian in public because they fear repression and persecution. Even when I was Minister of Culture, I was the only member of the government who publicly used the Belarusian language in public communication. Lukashenko himself said that “Belarusians are just Russians with a quality mark.” He always speaks Russian and claims it to be our native language.
Lukashenko once told me face-to-face (now I view this as a completely false claim) that he would also speak Belarusian, but then Putin would sell him oil at a much higher price. In other words, he is ready to sell out Belarusian culture, language, and history for economic benefits, for cheap oil and gas. This is the true essence of this pro-Soviet and pro-Russian politician.
For a long time, the West viewed the situation in Belarus only as a local human rights crisis. This is a dangerous mistake. Today, culture and identity are the frontline. Without large-scale, systemic, and decisive support for Belarusian culture, the European Union, in the very near future, will get right at its borders either an official new region of the Russian Federation or a country with a fully replaced Russian mentality—one that is deeply aggressive, militarized, and hostile toward Europe. The destruction of Belarusian culture turns a European society of nine million people into a faceless mobilization and ideological resource for the Kremlin’s military adventures. The destruction of Belarusian culture turns a 9-million European Belarusian society into a faceless mobilization and ideological resource for the Kremlin’s military adventures.
A nation can survive without state borders, but it cannot survive without a strong national identity. If we pay enough attention to culture, it will help us not to talk about new military bases in the future. Sociological data from a study on national identity conducted for the Ebert Foundation show that it is national-oriented Belarusians who support the idea of European integration and Belarus's European choice to the greatest extent, unlike pro-Soviet and Russified ones.
Recommendations and an action plan for democratic Europe.
These proposals combine proposals from the Representation for National Revival of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, the Belarusian Council for Culture, and the National Anti-Crisis Management.
Political recognition of ethnocide and sanctions: Adopt resolutions at the level of PACE and the European Parliament, officially qualifying the actions of Russia and the Lukashenko regime as a hybrid occupation and a creeping ethnocide of the Belarusian people. Introduce sanctions against officials, security forces, and propagandists responsible for the persecution of the language and culture, as well as the Russian foundations financing them. Russification is used as a tool of control, and the destruction of national culture as a way to weaken society. That is why supporting Belarusian culture is a matter of freedom, sovereignty, and European security.
Creation of the European Fund for Belarusian Culture: Launch large-scale programs of institutional and financial support for independent Belarusian cultural institutions and initiatives, and educational projects both inside the country and in exile. Create a 2–3 year sub-program for Belarusians within the “Creative Europe” program. Support initiatives to integrate independent Belarusian culture into the European context, and expand its representation on European platforms. Investing in culture today is an investment in democracy, stability, and European security tomorrow.
Protection of digital and historical heritage: Provide targeted grants for the digitization of Belarusian archives and books, the development of the Belarusian-language IT sector, and support for projects broadcasting into the country to deconstruct the 'Russian World' narratives. Distinguish between support for Belarusians and opposition Russians (so-called “good Russians'”). Support initiatives aimed at uniting figures from countries experiencing Russian influence attempts (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan).
Preventing a new 'Iron Curtain' between Belarus and Europe: Today, Belarusian artists, musicians, writers, and researchers continue to build bridges between Belarus and Europe. But these bridges are weakening. Travel restrictions, visa difficulties, problems opening bank accounts, and blocked access to professional opportunities risk creating a new "Iron Curtain"—not between regimes, but between people. We must preserve and expand mobility opportunities for Belarusians. Europe must remain open to Belarusian society, even if Belarus remains closed to Europe for now.
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