In Belarus the authorities don’t just control the purse strings of the cultural world: they pull the strings of the entire cultural process, just as they did in the Soviet years. Ideologically sound creatives are supported and promoted, but any attempt to use the arts, whether in the form of literature or rock music, to express any critical perspective on the social order is regarded as a threat to the status quo, and is often met with proscriptive measures.
Before the presidential election of 2006, for example, and after the last election in 2010, unofficial lists were compiled of performers who should be kept out of public view. These were mostly rock musicians, but the lists also included writers, actors, and directors.
Being on a blacklist means you have no legal way of bringing your work to public attention, whether through a bookshop, a concert venue, newspapers, TV or radio. The government does not usually admit to any intervention, but anyone who comes under suspicion of criticising the regime is quickly made aware of the connection between their work and the systematic cancellation of their planned publications or performances.
