Culture: Other

Nashaniva.com

05.11.2026 / 18:05

The book "Self-portrait with Belarus and without" is being released — six stories about freedom and Belarus

The Sviedki publishing house is releasing the book "Self-portrait with Belarus and without" — six extensive conversations with representatives of the Belarusian generation of freedom, who continued their work despite persecution and exile.

The heroes of the book are the laureates of the "Voice of the Generation of Freedom" award for 2026: Natallia Bordak (Natalka Khvoya), Ales Lozka, Aliaksandr Mantsevich, Sofya Savelava, Aliaksandr Smalianchuk, and Tamara Shchapyotkina.

They were born in the 1950s. They grew up and began their work in the Soviet Union, and then lived in independent Belarus. In their conversations, they recall how their views and lives changed, and talk about language, culture, family, memory, and choice. Each has their own story of their relationship with Belarus and their own answer to the question of what it means to be free.

"Self-portrait with Belarus and without" is a multi-voiced portrait of a generation and a country that, in the lives of the heroes, was sometimes almost imperceptible, sometimes remained outside the official world view, and sometimes was rediscovered as something of their own.

The book was published by Sviedki publishing house in Warsaw in 2026. The publication is supported by the Ossoliński National Institute and the International Solidarity Fund (the project is financed within the framework of the Polish development cooperation program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland).

A public presentation of the collection, dedicated to the laureates of the "Voice of the Generation of Freedom" award, will take place on November 7, 2026, at 6:00 PM at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk as part of the Belarusian Literature Festival. Admission is free.

You can purchase the book with delivery throughout Europe on Allegro.

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