Since the violently suppressed revolution in 2020, the independent publishing scene in Belarus, which had to fight for its existence even in better times, has been given hardly any space. Publishing houses have been forced to cease their work, while for others the working conditions have been made so difficult that book production is no longer possible. Authors are in prison, publishers and translators have left the country.
What does this situation mean for books that have already been edited and translated? What does it imply for books that have already been set? Will the production of many books be indefinitely postponed?
The "33 Books for Another Belarus" initiative aims to address this issue by providing an opportunity for at least 33 titles that cannot currently be published in Belarus to be released.
"33 Books for Another Belarus" therefore forms a temporary production network for Belarusian books in different European countries. The idea ties in with the tradition of Tamizdat, which made it possible to publish books in their original languages abroad during the Cold War. This practice not only ensured that literature was available to the diaspora, but also made a significant contribution to Slavic studies by enabling the circulation of books underground. Today, the technical possibilities are different and the idea of "33 Books for Another Belarus" is not a classic Tamizdat. Nowadays, borders can be overcome in a different way: 33 European publishers produce Belarusian books - primarily printed for the international diaspora and as e-books for readers in Belarus."