Belarusian writer and lawyer Maksim Znak has been awarded the prestigious Disturbing the Peace Award to a Courageous Writer at Risk, presented annually by the Václav Havel Center in New York. The award honors writers and creators who demonstrate courage in defending truth and freedom. In 2021, Belarusian poet Dzmitry Strotsau received the same recognition.
At the ceremony, which gathered around 300 representatives of culture, diplomacy, and business, photos from productions based on Znak’s works were shown, and excerpts from his stories were read aloud. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that Maksim Znak’s fate in many ways mirrors that of Václav Havel, who was also imprisoned for the courage to “live in truth”.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “By honoring Maksim today, we honor every Belarusian who refused to surrender. Every writer, every lawyer, every journalist who chose truth over comfort. We honor all those who continue to disturb the false ‘silence’ of tyranny”.
Maksim Znak has been held incommunicado since February 2023.
