{"id":189327,"date":"2026-05-26T19:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/189327\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T19:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:43:19","slug":"belarus-bans-17-books-including-several-romance-novels","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/189327\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus bans 17 books, including several romance novels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>May 26, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Belarus\u2019 information ministry has added 17 books, including romance novels, to its list of \u201cpublications whose dissemination can cause damage to national interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among others, the ministry has blacklisted three books by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, titled <em>Him<\/em>, <em>Us<\/em>, and <em>Epic<\/em>, which focus on the romantic relationship between two male ice hockey players, and <em>The Wild Boys<\/em> by William S. Burroughs. Written in 1971, the avant-garde satirical novel chronicles a global uprising of homosexual youths waging an apocalyptic guerrilla war to dismantle a repressive civilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ministry has also banned two titles by Russian author Lena Sokol writing under the pen name Lea Stenberg, namely, dark romance and campus thrillers <em>\u0412\u043e\u043b\u043a\u0438. \u0411\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e \u043f\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043a\u0430<\/em> (Wolves. The Brotherhood of Vice) and <em>\u0412\u043e\u043b\u043a\u0438. \u0412\u0430\u0440\u0433 \u0412\u0435\u0443\u043c<\/em> (Wolves. Varg Veum).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The blacklist now features a total of 258 titles, including books mentioning illicit drugs, homosexual relationships, works of history and books written by Belarusian authors who have fallen out with the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The information ministry also has a separate list of \u201cextremist content,\u201d which includes many works of fiction and historical literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pelevin-lampa-mafusaila-kommersant-1128-752-354x199.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Pelevin&#039;s banned book cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pelevin-lampa-mafusaila-kommersant-1128-752-354x199.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pelevin-lampa-mafusaila-kommersant-1128-752-734x413.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pelevin-lampa-mafusaila-kommersant-1128-752-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Pelevin-lampa-mafusaila-kommersant-1128-752.jpg 1338w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Society<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics, Society<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Information ministry bans 16 books, including Methuselah Lamp by Pelevin<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">February 26, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 censors have banned 16 more books from distribution in the country, including the postmodern satirical novel \u041b\u0430\u043c\u043f\u0430 \u041c\u0430\u0444\u0443\u0441\u0430\u0438\u043b\u0430, \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u041a\u0440\u0430\u0439\u043d\u044f\u044f \u0431\u0438\u0442\u0432\u0430 \u0447\u0435\u043a\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0432 \u0441 \u043c\u0430\u0441\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043c\u0438 (Methuselah\u2019s Lamp) by Viktor Pelevin, according to the information ministry. The ministry &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/177327\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/knigi_freepik_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/knigi_freepik_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/knigi_freepik_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/knigi_freepik_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/knigi_freepik_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/knigi_freepik_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Society<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics, Society<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Information ministry bans 52 books from distribution in Belarus<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">December 29, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 information ministry has banned an additional 52 books from distribution in the country, labeling them harmful to national interests. Among the banned titles is \u0411\u0435\u043b\u0430\u0440\u0443\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u041d\u0430\u0440\u043e\u0434\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0420\u044d\u0441\u043f\u0443\u0431\u043b\u0456\u043a\u0430 1918\u20131920 \u0433\u0433.: \u043b\u044f \u0432\u044b\u0442\u043e\u043a\u0430\u045e \u0431\u0435\u043b\u0430\u0440\u0443\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0439 \u0434\u0437\u044f\u0440\u0436\u0430\u045e\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0446\u0456 (The Belarusian People\u2019s &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/169962\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 26, Pozirk. Belarus\u2019 information ministry has added 17 books, including romance novels, to its list of \u201cpublications whose dissemination can cause damage to national interests.\u201d Among others, the ministry has blacklisted three books by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, titled Him, Us, and Epic, which focus on the romantic relationship between two male ice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":124994,"template":"","rubric":[16,15],"class_list":["post-189327","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarus bans 17 books, including several romance novels | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"May 26, Pozirk. 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