May 22, 2022

Ignorance is Not Strength


Ignorance is Not Strength
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Image courtesy Ivan Radic

Belarusian publishers are being instructed to remove George Orwell's 1949 novel 1984 from their bookshelves. The instructions come as the Belarusian parliament is debating a new law that would mete out harsh punishment for dissent.

According to independent Belarusian news outlets, the order has already gone into effect.

Belarusian poet Serhiy Prylutsky, when asked about the book being banned, said, “Well, first of all, this is a traditional move of all dictators – to ban the truth about how the mechanism of repression works. It is stupid, but completely in the spirit of Lukashenko... Generally speaking, this is a systematic sweep of all protests in the country, which is certainly not the first.”

On May 16, state security forces confiscated over 200 copies of the book from the apartment of publisher Andrey Yanushkevich. He and a colleague have both been detained.

1984 is the most famous book by twentieth-century author George Orwell. It portrays dystopian life in an oppressive regime where the state maintains power through ubiquitous surveillance, propaganda, and intimidation.

As of May 19, the book could still be bought through the state publishing chain's website, and the Russian-language version could be purchased through other Belarusian booksellers. 

You Might Also Like

Bellyaching in Belarus
  • February 26, 2022

Bellyaching in Belarus

Locals near Belarus's border with Ukraine have complaints about ill-mannered interlopers: Russian troops.
The Breadwinner
  • December 08, 2021

The Breadwinner

"Any region [of the Russian Federation], a Russian citizen, a Russian person – these are our people. We have never split. Can we help with something in agriculture – please. We will give the last grain, super-elite [grain], so all is well." –  From the website of Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, on December 2.
Belarus, Bigwigs, and Boasting
  • November 17, 2021

Belarus, Bigwigs, and Boasting

"I knew Hafez Assad, I knew Saddam Hussein, I knew Muammar Gaddafi. We had very good and close relationships with them. We met with them. I'll tell you, the greatest thinkers!” – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko name drops on November 10.
A Mustachioed Medusa
  • October 27, 2021

A Mustachioed Medusa

What could be more sinister than a Medusa with a mustache? A hint: a Medusa with a mustache and a reputation for being Europe’s last dictator.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
PO Box 567
Montpelier VT 05601-0567

802-223-4955