Belarus bans sale of George Orwell’s 1984

George Orwell’s anti-utopian novel 1984 has been banned in Belarus, independent Belarus media reports. 

«Remove all versions of Orwell’s book 1984 from sale. Report on execution no later than May 19», – reads the order, a copy of which was obtained by the media. The order is not being published to protect the people who showed it to the media. The number of bookstores that received the order is unknown.  

The state company «Belkniga» continues to sell Orwell’s book on its website. 

Journalists say the ban is likely linked to the detention on May 16 of publisher Andrey Yanushkevich, who is being persecuted by the regime of the unrecognized president-ursurper lukashenko. 

1984 was translated into Belarusian by Sergei Shupa in 1992. The book was republished in 2020 by Yanushkevich’s publishing house. A new edition of the book was released in 2021 and, according to Belarusian media, became the most popular book in many bookstores and was on Belkniga’s bestseller list for 4 months.  

In April, the Haliafy independent publishing house was shut down for three months by the Belarus Ministry of Information. In 2021 the Supreme Court of Belarus officially liquidated the Union of Belarus Writers.

Source: Nasha Niva