This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

“We are trapped in an absurd and unjust situation which threatens not only the existence of Lohvinau Bookstore but which endangers the possibility to publish books freely in Belarus”.



This is the plea from staff at Minsk’s celebrated Lohvinau publishing house and bookshop, who have set up a crowdfunding page to help pay a heavy government fine that threatens to put the store out of business.

Belarusian publisher on trial for selling books without state registration Read more

Earlier this month, the store’s award-winning founder Ihar Lohvinau was fined 976 billion Belarusian roubles ($62,150) for selling books from his shop in the capital without the correct documentation.

The amount is the equivalent of the bookshop’s annual turnover and campaigners are worried it could spell the end for the literary hub, which champions the work of repressed writers and is at the centre of Belarus’s independent publishing scene.

Lohvinau had its license revoked in October 2013 on the grounds of “extremism” after the book Belarus Press Photo 2011 – which included an image of police brutality – angered the government.

As of July 2013 the Belarusian government requires all publishers to register with the ministry of information, which can reject applications if publishers are found to be “carrying out licensed activities with aims contradicting the interests of the Republic of Belarus”.

The Lohvinau bookshop said they tried to re-register six times last year but were rejected each time on the grounds of “far-fetched pretexts.”

Reacting to the verdict this month, a spokesperson for Lohvinau bookshop said they were devastated: “for five years we’ve been a law-abiding enterprise serving public the access to productions of various literary communities, facing the unpleasant fact that there’s no place for books in our country”.



Lohvinau bookshop has been described as a ‘vital hub for the country’s fragile literary community’. Photograph: svaboda.org

In a statement, Lohvinau staff warned that their case sets “a legal precedent to constrain and repress” publishing, distribution and discussion across Belarus, pointing to a number of cases of non-state newspapers and magazines being closed.

“In this regard we’re afraid that independent publishing in the country will soon become impossible, while the whole sphere of book industry will fall under the total ideological control” they said.

A chill on publishers, and a significant barrier to the flow of information and cultural exchange PEN International

PEN international, who campaign for literary freedom, have called Belarus’s registration law “a chill on publishers, and a significant barrier to the flow of information and cultural exchange”, and rights organisations, including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch, have consistently warned about government attempts to curtail freedoms of speech and political expression.

The group supporting the bookstore, who are organising under the name “Save Lohvinau Club”, say they have embarked on a “marathon” of events in the bookshop to raise funds and they are mobilising support online using #SaveLohvinau.

Belsat in English (@Belsat_Eng) Belsat journos call to support Lohvinau publishing house persecuted in #Belarus #savelohvinau http://t.co/u82XlicUQE pic.twitter.com/Ww180c9NS2

The effort has raised 15% of the requested total so far. Alexandra Logvinova, a campaign volunteer based in Minsk, said the response had been “very inspiring” in the face of a “dramatic economic situation”.

Logvinova recognises the catch-22 situation the campaign presents: by supporting the bookshop they subsidise the government they are acting against, but she says that for most of their supporters, it’s seen as an essential step to keep Lohvinau afloat. “In a way this position is itself a protest, weirdly operated with money instead of stones and fire,” she adds.



Whilst most of the support has come from Belarusians living at home and abroad, Logvinova says international support is important to help “spread the word about opaque restrictions towards book publishing and distribution in Belarus disastrously threatening the freedom of expression.”