Feared to Sell Vasil Bykau Books in Belarus

• 28.01.2008, 12:21

A presentation of a collection of Vasil Bykau works in Russian and Belarusian is to become a central event of the opening day of the Russian exposition at Minsk International Book Exhibition.

Publishing of Vasil Bykau’s collection of works in Russian and Belarusian is a joint project of the Union of Belarusian Writers and a Russian publishing house “Vremya”. For today 6 volumes of the 14-volume Belarusian edition have been released. A Russian 8-volume series is being prepared for publishing.

Only 3,000 copies of the collection of works in Belarusian has been published in Belarusian,

Half of the Belarusian books have been given to the Union of Writers. It presents books to schools and libraries. “Vremya” publishing house has managed to sell only an insignificant part of the books.

“This happens because Belarusian wholesalers do not take books by Vasil Bykau willingly. They feel some hidden danger in distribution of their books, though no official ban exists,” a general director of the Russian publishing house “Vremya” Boris Pasternak noted in an interview to “Zavtra tvoej strany” newspaper.