For 20 years, the "Library of Freedom" series saw the light of nine dozen publications about Belarusian politics, language, history, society, journalism, prison, health and much more.

We continue to introduce you to our publishing output.

By the way, every book is available in digital format.

The fourth letter to those who can read.

The country behind bars

Prison and freedom are the two main themes of life in presidential Belarus.

Sometimes they became so dominant that for several years, in addition to news from prisoners and reports from courts, a special program called "Freedom in Prisons" was broadcast on the air.

Now such a transfer is impossible, because now it is the content of daily life, and the news feed, analytics, special projects of independent media and publications in social networks in one way or another deal with life in the prison that the country has become.

Three dozen authors have received the Franziska Alyakhnovich Award, which is awarded by the Belarusian PEN and the Belarusian service of Radio Svaboda for the best works born behind bars.

But this year the prize was not awarded - because it became almost impossible to release or publish what was created behind bars.

However, new works are being written and they will definitely be celebrated next year.

The voices of the prison, which were embodied in the books of "Libraries", are actually the voices of freedom.

If your loved ones, acquaintances are in captivity or have been released - support them in their creativity, ask them to write about what they have experienced and seen, do not let the jailers steal your memory and life time.

Tell them about the "Prison Library" of human rights defenders "Vyasny", illuminated by the Nobel Prize, about the "Library of Freedom", where the book "Bialiatski Case" was published.

The light should increase.

Alexander Lukashuk, librarian of Svoboda

SEE ALSO:

20th anniversary of "Library of Freedom".

Our guide to the Land of Time Travel

20th anniversary of "Library of Freedom".

Our guide to the Land of Poets

20th anniversary of "Library of Freedom".

Our guide to the Land of Heroes

"One day as a political prisoner.

2009"

  • One day political prisoner.

    2009 (.pdf)

Among the heroes of the book are a poet, an artist, a surveyor, a chairman of a collective farm, a doctor, a prime minister, an ambassador, politicians, public activists, human rights defenders, entrepreneurs, deputies, journalists, ministers.

Contributor and editor Anna Sous collected all living things that resisted the dictatorship and paid for it with their freedom, and the chorus of testimonies from behind the bars formed a song of freedom.

"One day as a political prisoner.

2009-2011"

  • One day political prisoner.

    2009-2011 (.pdf)

The book chronologically and thematically continues the publication of the series "One Day of a Political Prisoner" (2009), which featured portraits of opponents of the authoritarian regime who were imprisoned in Belarus in 1996-2008.

"Who blew up the Minsk metro?"

  • Who blew up the Minsk subway?

    (.pdf)

This book was written by political prisoner Oleg Gruzdylovich - but eight years before he himself was arrested, convicted and imprisoned.

This is an analysis of the trial of those accused of a terrorist attack in the Minsk metro, where 15 people died on April 11, 2011.

When the book was published, the prosecutor's office issued a special warning accusing the author and the "Library" of undermining trust in the judicial system of Belarus.

How the author managed to undermine what is not there - you will find the answer to this riddle on the pages of the book.

"Prison and Health"

  • Prison and Health (.pdf)

The former rector of the Gomel Medical University, doctor of medicine Yury Bandazhevsky, based on his own experience, wrote a manual addressed to prisoners who are not going to surrender in captivity.

The book includes physical exercises and psychological practices that helped the author survive near-death situations, come out healthy and continue the pioneering development of the Chernobyl theme, which is with us forever.

"108 days and nights in KGB cells"

The Diary of a Political Hostage is the subtitle given by politician Anatol Lyabedzka to his memoirs.

The prison diary is a detailed description of the hell that became for political prisoners "American", the vile KGB prison in the center of Minsk, right after the 2010 presidential elections.

The scenes of confrontation and disobedience, portraits of prisoners and jailers, which under the talented pen turn into documentary prose, awarded with the Alyakhnovich Prize, cannot fail to impress.

The book will appear at the upcoming trial of the dictatorship and its accomplices.

However, she has already passed her sentence - read more!

"Tantamoreski"

  • Tantomoreski (.pdf)

Someone will read this book by Syarhei Dubauts as a history of modern Belarus, someone as a guide to court proceedings, someone as a detective novel with many literary allusions.

The large-scale "Flower Process" of the Belarusian customs is examined comprehensively and in details, as if under a microscope, and the main defendant appears as a hero of all Belarusian times: an educator, local historian, publicist, a man of conscience, romantic faith and iron rules.

The conclusions led the author to philosophical revelations, and the Jury of the Jerzy Gedroyts Prize to the decision to mark this book "Libraries" with the highest literary award of Belarus.

"Captive"

The preface to the book "Tantamoreski" about the trial of customs

officer Ales Yurkoyts

and his colleagues was

Alexander Lukashuk

's poem "Yurkoyts' capture".

You wake up in the morning, and there is no sky,


You leave the house, and there is no road,


You take a deep breath, but there is no air,


There is a prison.

You don't run into the wall, but it hits you,


You don't fall into the abyss, but it hits you, You


don't turn off the light, but it turns you off,


Like in war.

What will remain when the ashes cover everything,


What will remain when the wind blows everything away,


What will remain when everything ends,


Only love

.

To this text, Levon Volsky wrote the song "Polon", which became a dedication to all those illegally imprisoned for political reasons - political prisoners, prisoners of Lukashenka's regime.

"Prison, Man and Woman"

  • Prison, Man and Woman (.pdf)

The book is subtitled "How they live in modern Belarus", and is not dedicated to political prisoners, but to general life behind bars.

It was born from the radio program "Freedom in Prisons", which was hosted by Alena Struve in 2011-2017.

Even then, one observation was fair: if you gather all the prisoners in Belarus together, you will get a small town with its own traditions and rules, where there is a place for grief and joy, meanness and nobility, love and hatred, illness and death, political and everyday conflict, creativity, humor

Today, this city has grown to the size of the country.

"Voices of Solidarity"

  • Voices of Solidarity (DVD-based microsite)

This is the simplest and most unusual edition of the "Library".

After all, what could be simpler than to read on the air the names of seven hundred people who were imprisoned after the presidential elections in December 2010.

And what could be more unusual for the listeners of this New Year's broadcast, that these names were read in Belarusian by the former presidents of the USA and the Czech Republic, George Bush and Vaclav Havel, world-famous dissidents, philosophers, parliamentarians, ministers, writers, priests, human rights defenders from three dozen countries.

Solidarity and hope are the most ordinary and always extraordinary thing for prison and for freedom.

There will be a continuation

  • Alexander Lukashuk

    Radio Svaboda journalist

    lukashuka@rferl.org

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