Independent publisher Knihazbor to close

January 26, BPN. Knihazbor’s director Hienadź Viniarski has announced the closure of the private publishing house.

“That’s the end of my epic run as a publisher. Twenty-seven years of work, about 3,000 titles, presentations and exhibitions,” he wrote on Facebook. “Today I returned my publisher’s certificate to the Ministry of Information. The liquidation of the Knihazbor private company will begin soon.”

Viniarski rejected media requests for comments.

In the spring of 2022, the Ministry of Information suspended publishing houses Medisont, Halijafy, Limarius and Knihazbor, all of which printed books in Belarusian. The largest state book retailer Biełkniha terminated contracts with the suspended publishers.

Police labeled several books published by independent printers “extremist content.”