The information and media landscape in Belarus is characterised by extensive state dominance, with state-owned media outlets and television channels serving as the primary source of information.86 Numerous independent newspapers, radio stations, and television channels had their licences removed or were forced to close.87 In November 2024, the Ministry of Information ordered distributors of print materials to remove publications deemed to be ‘harming the national interest of Belarus’, including those deemed to ‘distort the historical truth and justice’, ‘promote non-traditional sexual relations’ and ‘popularise subcultures that are not traditional for Belarusian society’. 88 The same month, the ministry issued a list of 35 printed publications – including ‘LGBTIQ+ literature, erotic fiction, and unofficial studies on the history of Belarus’, which were declared banned from distribution in the country.89
According to the human rights organisation PEN Belarus,90 336 books were ‘banned for political or ideological reasons’ as of mid-April 2026.91 Moreover, between 2020 and November 2025, five independent publishing houses were shut down.92 In February 2026, the authorities conducted raids against publishing houses and book distributors in Minsk,93 resulting in the arrest and detention of several individuals associated with a suspended publishing house. In addition, the State Security Committee (KGB) designated a publishing house operating in exile as an extremist formation.94
As of February 2026, a blacklist maintained by the Ministry of Culture contained names of ‘hundreds’ of persons, reflecting widespread cultural, political, and ideological censorship. The official cultural policy is based on public support for President Lukashenka, the state’s control over the interpretation of historical memory, and growing cooperation with Russian cultural institutions.95 The authorities have intensified a ‘campaign of historical revisionism,’ including through restrictions on ‘alternative narrative of Belarusian identity’ and the promotion of ‘pro-Russian disinformation.’ As a result, the country faces political polarisation and highlighted divisions between supporters and opponents of the authorities.96
Educational institutions have been increasingly militarised through expansion of military-patriotic clubs and classes.97 Patriotic clubs are led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and parents who do not enrol their children may face suspicion of disloyalty to the state. There were cases where the General Prosecutor’s Office investigated schools for insufficient involvement in patriotic activities, treating low participation as a national security issue that could lead to further scrutiny or prosecution.98
While the country has two official languages – Belarusian and Russian,99 sources noted on the dominance of Russian language in state media, government institutions, and education.100 Many public services, including courts and law enforcement agencies, provide information only in Russian.101 Following the 2020 protests, the authorities closed and declared numerous Belarusian-language media outlets and publishing houses as extremist.102 Speaking Belarusian in everyday life became perceived as a marker of opposition to authorities,103 and, as reported by Belarusian independent media outlet Belsat, individuals had been detained ‘for simply reading books by Belarusian authors in public.’104
The authorities continuously expand restrictions on dissemination of and access to information,105 systematically increasing control over the internet.106 Independent media outlets have been blocked and their content criminalised through anti-extremist and anti-terrorist legislation.107 In February 2025, the Minister of Information stated that the authorities had blocked over 15 000 webpages, including websites designated as extremist.108 As noted by Freedom House, the list of blocked online materials includes websites of independent media outlets and human rights organisations.109 In February 2026, several resources of the human rights organisation Viasna – including its TikTok account and two specific campaign websites, #FreeViasna and Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty – were classified as extremist materials.110 For more information, see chapter 2.2.2. Anti-extremism and anti-terrorism laws, a) List of extremist materials.
In September 2025, the authorities introduced new procedures for restricting internet access, allegedly to eliminate conditions that facilitate online crime. Under the new rules, request for internet access restrictions can be issued by ‘the Prosecutor General, the head of the Investigative Committee, the chairman of the KGB, the Minister of Internal Affairs or their authorised officials.’111
- 86
BBC News, Belarus country profile, 27 January 2025, url; UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 15
- 87
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 15
- 88
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 61
- 89
UN Human Rights Council, Report of Human Rights in Belarus, 22 April 2025, url, para. 63
- 90
PEN Belarus is a human rights organisation, which monitors violations affecting cultural rights, PEN Belarus, Who we are, n.d., url
- 91
PEN Belarus, Belarus. Banned Books, n.d., url; PEN Belarus, PEN Belarus’s analytical products, n.d., url
- 92
PEN Belarus, Briefing, November 27! Banned people: How writers and journalists work in Belarus, where independent work is branded “extremism”, 21 November 2025, url; IPA, Bans, Prison, and Exile: Belarusian Authors Seeking Freedom to Write, 9 December 2025, url
- 93
Nasha Niva, У Мінску адбыліся масавыя затрыманні выдаўцоў і кнігараспаўсюднікаў [Mass detentions of publishers and book distributors took place in Minsk], 21 February 2026, url
- 94
Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. February 2026, 3 March 2026, url
- 95
PEN Belarus, Monitoring of violations of cultural rights an human rights of cultural figures, Belarus, 2025, 13 February 2026, url
- 96
Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2026 Country Report – Belarus, 2026, url, p. 3
- 97
Belsat, Ban on Belarusian language and symbols, Lukashenka cult, and Russification: how authorities are erasing Belarusian identity, 22 October 2025, url
- 98
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026
- 99
Belarus, Constitution (With Amendments Adopted by Referendum of 27 February 2022), European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), 5 October 2022, url, Art. 17
- 100
Euronews, Belarus endures Russification as native language fades away in schools, 14 September 2024, url;
Chernin, V., National Democratic Movement of Belarus, BESA, 19 March 2025, url; Belsat, Language incommunicado: Why the state fears the Belarusian word, 23 February 2026, url
- 101
Chernin, V., National Democratic Movement of Belarus, BESA, 19 March 2025, url
- 102
Belsat, Ban on Belarusian language and symbols, Lukashenka cult, and Russification: how authorities are erasing Belarusian identity, 22 October 2025, url
- 103
Euronews, Belarus endures Russification as native language fades away in schools, 14 September 2024, url;
Chernin, V., National Democratic Movement of Belarus, BESA, 19 March 2025, url
- 104
Belsat, Ban on Belarusian language and symbols, Lukashenka cult, and Russification: how authorities are erasing Belarusian identity, 22 October 2025, url
- 105
Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. February 2026, 3 March 2026, url
- 106
BBC News, Belarus country profile, 27 January 2025, url
- 107
Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2025 – Belarus, 31 May 2025, url; Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026
- 108
BHRC, Belarus: Almost 7 thousand information sources are considered "extremist", 6 June 2025, url; SCO meter, Belarus to block access to internet and phone services for selected individuals, 4 November 2025, url
- 109
Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2025 – Belarus, 31 May 2025, url
- 110
Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. January 2026, 4 February 2026, url
- 111
SCO meter, Belarus to block access to internet and phone services for selected individuals, 4 November 2025, url