Belarusian Council for Culture to work with greater zeal after extremism ruling

September 7, BPN. Following a Minsk court’s decision to blacklist the Belarusian Council for Culture website and social media as extremist, the organization will work with even greater zeal, its founder and leader Siarhiej Budkin has said.

He told the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) that the council itself had previously been declared an extremist organization, the first cultural organization to be attached this label.

“All of this means that we are on the right track. It fully contradicts today’s occupation policy on culture, which implies total control, ideological service, Russification and militarization against the backdrop of daily reprisals,” Budkin said.

He added that the organization will take care of its members’ safety and keep working to help artists put their creative ideas into practice.