Liavon Barshcheuski: The state wants to control everything, including bookstores

The official authorities are ready to put difficulties even to publishers, who are working to the state’s good, but don’t want to be under its full control.

On December 5 the Economic Court of Minsk started hearing the infamous tax ministry's suit seeking payment of a penalty of one billion rubles by prominent publisher Ihar Lohvinau’s bookstore.

The bookshop may be closed for selling books “without the license of the Ministry of Information”. It should be noted that the legislative requirement to have such license appeared only in 2014. Ihar Lohvinau tried to get this license eight times, but each time it was unsuccessful.

As “EuroBelarus” Information Service earlier reported, the penalty was imposed on the bookstore for unlicensed retailing as a result of an unscheduled audit ordered by the information ministry.

In September 2013, the information ministry revoked the Lohvinau Publishing House's license over the publication of the 2011 Belarus Press Photo book, which was later found to be "extremist material."  Lohvinau’s appeals against the ministry’s decision were rejected. He subsequently moved his business to Lithuania and had an organization called the Lohvinau Literary House registered in Vilnius.

"It was an unusual and quite unpleasant experience”, Ihar Lohvinau told reporters outside the courtroom. The next hearing will be held on January 9.

Right away on January 5 Lohvinau had filed a formal appeal against the Information Ministry's decision to deny his company a license to publish and sell books.

Lohvinau speaks about biased attitude towards his bookstore on the part of the state. “Earlier we were trying to resolve the problem with the license and were correcting the critical remarks of the Ministry only to get some new ones. At that time we thought that appeals are pointless, though now we wish we had done that”, - he marked.

“Lohvinau” bookstore is important when it comes to the selection of books, - noted the philologist and interpreter Liavon Barshcheuski in the interview with “EuroBelarus” Information Service. – No bookstore has such variety and quantity of philosophical literature as this bookstore.

And yet again, this bookstore where the work was organized in Belarusan have always been setting an example of how the space and work with guests are organized. It differed from the traditional one, but it was positive difference.

- What do you think, what will be the end of the story? Is the fate of the bookstore already resolved? Can court hearings change something, or it is mere formality?

- I think if the state didn’t decide everything, it wouldn’t start the case in the first place. There is no such legislation that works post factum in civilized countries. The bookstore has been working before the so-called licenses, which means that it is to continue working.

I would like to be mistaken, but the decision seems to have been taken by people who made inspection first only to send its results in court. Unfortunately, I have little trust in this court.

- What threat might the state see in the work of the independent publishers?

- I think there is no rational explanation to that. Perhaps, this bookstore that wasn’t a part of the state system was an eyesore for some officials. Belarusan state wants to control everything.