Belarusian "Pradmova" Took Place In Wrocław, Poland

• 6.10.2026, 11:14

A number of new books were presented to Belarusians.

The “Pradmova” Festival of Belarusian Intellectual Books was conceived in 2018 by independent Belarusian writers, publishers, and cultural managers. They wanted to create a unique space for the development of literary, scientific, and philosophical works. The festival’s name symbolized a new beginning and the start of a discussion about the state of contemporary culture and society, according to “Polish Radio”.

The last event took place in Belarus in October 2020, during the mass protests. Due to brutal repression against publishers and authors, it became impossible to work in the country. To save the project and preserve its independent culture, “Pradmova” moved abroad in 2022. This year, “Pradmova” is taking place abroad for the fifth time, visiting various European countries. This time, it took place in Wrocław, Poland, home to a large Belarusian community.

“To be honest, I’ve been living in Wrocław for three years now, and this is probably one of the largest events ever organized specifically by the Belarusian community. So there was a lot going on. From an organizational standpoint, of course, there were also many interesting aspects, and it was challenging at times. But we were able to pull it all off thanks to our community: it’s quite strong and very close-knit,” said Alexei Kartynnik, technical organizer of the “Pradmova” festival in Wrocław.

“When we needed to find volunteers, all our friends responded very quickly. Within a week, we found everyone we needed. Our Polish partners also did a great job. They’re simply wonderful: without asking any unnecessary questions, they gave us permission for everything and provided everything we needed. That’s the Ossolineum. As an institution, they help—including the Ukrainian and Belarusian communities—to present literary works and generally support the development of the literary scene,” he added.

According to Kartynnik, he gets very anxious before any event and wants everything to go exactly according to plan. “It wasn’t the way I like it here: everything happened very quickly. But by the time the festival itself began, I calmed down and realized that I had a team I could fully rely on. Now it’s the last day: there were no serious incidents, and everything went really well,” the organizer noted.

“Wrocław always impresses. First of all, with its unique audience. Belarusians in Wrocław—it’s something truly captivating. There are always a lot of people. I haven’t seen a crowd like the one at the music and poetry evening at Belarusian events in a long time. People were actually standing in the hallway because there were no empty seats left in the hall, even after they brought in extra chairs. The singing, poetry, and applause could be heard from far away. We had to open the windows because there wasn’t even enough air—so many people had gathered,” said Pavel Lagchilov from the publishing house “Rozum Media” (Poznań).

According to Lagchilov, a large part of a fair like this is about conversation. “You’re not just selling a book; you’re having a conversation with every potential reader about something interesting. That’s why festivals like this could be held even more often in Wrocław,” the publisher emphasized.

“We’re very pleased. This is our first time here, and we’ve placed a major emphasis on our French collection—or the ‘Francophonica’ series, as we call it. For the first time, we’ve presented ‘Francophonica’ as a complete collection. Previously, we featured individual authors and individual books, but here we were able to showcase the entire series,” said Vlad Gorbatsky from the London-based publishing house Skaryna Press.

“And, of course, there was a new release: Simone de Beauvoir’s book *A Very Easy Death*. It’s a sort of calling card for this series and our publishing house. We had just presented it, and the presentation itself generated a lot of interest. Over the course of these three days, the book became our bestseller,” he added.

“I also represent the publishing house ‘Svideteli’ (Witnesses), which publishes books documenting the crimes that the Belarusian state is currently committing against political prisoners and people who disagree with the official ideology,” — said Tatyana Nedbay from the “Polotsk Labyrinths” publishing house.

“This publishing house has released Igor Karney’s book *Torture: Solitary Confinement, Incommunicado*, a book on the case of Viktor Babariko, a book by Sabina Brylo, and other publications. We presented these books during the book fair. There was also an event featuring Maksim Znak and a presentation of his book *The Colonists*. All of this was quite successful and received a very positive response from the audience gathered in Wrocław. Therefore, I am personally very pleased both with our participation in the book fair and with the “Pradmova” festival program itself,” she concluded.