Belarus bans sales of George Orwell's 1984 novel, one of the few independent publications in the country, Nasha Niva, reported.

They received a copy of an order sent to publishers in the country.

"All editions of 1984 must be withdrawn from the market. An implementation report must be submitted no later than May 19," the order said.

The publication has decided not to publish the full order in order to preserve the security of its source. It is not clear how many publishers and bookstores received it.

"1984" is an iconic novel describing the most extreme version of a totalitarian society. Many dictators around the world have been compared to the novel's "Big Brother," including current Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

The book was banned in Belarus only a few decades ago - and throughout the USSR until 1987. The first edition in Belarus was published in 1992, translated by Serhiy Shupa. In 2020, Januszkiewicz Publishing House released a new edition, in 2021 another one was published, and the book, written in 1948, briefly became a bestseller - something that is also recognized by the state publishing house Belkniga.

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