Five years ago, Belarus experienced a renaissance in publishing, with dozens of private publishers, an independent system of book Circulation, and standing-room only book events. The country also hosted art exhibitions with international curators and saw Western artists collaborate in the re-invention of urban spaces. But Belarusian culture is now perhaps the least visible from the region. What happened?

The fallout from the controversial 2020 presidential election and subsequent national protests severely damaged the country’s cultural space. Publishing houses were closed, private galleries were abandoned, and plays in national theaters are now produced solely in Russian language after leading Belarusian actors were fired for participating in protests and replaced with actors from provincial theaters of neighboring countries.

But this is not the first instance of cultural destruction in Belarus. Some examples include: the banning of Marc Chagall, the night of the executed poets in 1937, the czar’s repressions after Kalinouski’s 1863 revolution, the prosecutions of Uniates in the 17th century, and the burning of Francysk Skaryna’s books in Moscow in the 16th century, to name a few.

In this lecture, Belarusian writer Victor Martinovich will speak to his own exploration of cultural identity and his country’s challenge to constantly reinvent itself.

Victor Martinovich is a Belarusian writer, playwright, art historian, and public intellectual. He is the author of six fiction novels and seven plays, most notably the novels "Paranoia," "Night," and "Revolution." His work combines elements of social fiction, with parabolic and realistic depictions of post-Soviet societies. Plays based on his works have been staged in Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Minsk, Innsbruck, and St. Petersburg.

Martinovich is an associate professor at the European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he teaches courses in the arts and humanities. His PhD dissertation focused on Belarusian-born painters of the School of Paris and Vitebsk avant-garde. During his Fulbright fellowship in New York, he will work on his monograph on the arts as a language of the humanities.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us at crees@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.