«This is an industry closely linked to manufacturing, particularly timber processing. Our country has a complete production chain, from growing and processing timber to pulp production. We have our own paper and some of the chemical components we need. And, of course, when it comes to books, we have writers who work on them and publishing houses. The process culminates in printing companies producing books, paper and stationery products, and newspapers,» Denis Yezersky said. «Today, this is a well-established industry in our country.»

The state supports this sector in Belarus. «Having our own raw material base makes it easier for us to address organizational issues than for our colleagues abroad and in other post-Soviet countries. We have preserved our industrial capacity, including printing companies, and our publishing capacity and, accordingly, our pool of writers. Most importantly, consumers continue to visit bookshops, and the book retail sector is well developed in our country. It is not limited to state-owned retailers. Belarus currently has more than 2,500 book distributors,» he said.

Denis Yezersky cited the figures: Belarus has 460 publishing houses, both large and small. Of these, 228 are professional publishers producing substantial volumes of books, magazines, and other printed materials.

«In January-September, Belarus published more than 5,000 titles, totalling over 12 million books. This figure has remained stable over the past three or four years. On average, our country produces two books per resident. That is a fairly high figure and one of the best among post-Soviet countries,» he said. «Some books are intended for export. Our publishing houses produce books in more than 25 languages, covering a wide range of subjects and print runs. These include our cultural heritage and literary works that we translate into foreign languages.»

However, exports are not the primary goal. The main task, the first deputy minister stressed, is to ensure an adequate supply of books on the domestic market and make it, so to speak, less dependent on foreign-produced books.

«We believe that a book, like any information tool, should reflect our ideology, values, and culture,» he said. «Enormous numbers of books are published around the world today, but their content often leaves much to be desired. That is why our publishers’ task is to offer our own national goods and work with our authors.»