Abstract

The article examines the problems of the formation and development of publishing in Belarus in the 1920s, when, in line with the policy of Belarusization, the problem of the need for printing and publishing literature, primarily in the Belarusian language, became acute. Already in the early 1920s, the Government of the country took measures to establish publishing through the formation of state and cooperative publishing houses, which soon successfully launched the publication of books on Belarusian studies, textbooks for schools, textbooks on all branches of knowledge, fiction. Extensive work was carried out to study the demand for the book. Much attention was paid to the dissemination of literature, primarily Belarusian, and especially in rural areas. At the same time, the task was set to publish and distribute books not only in the Belarusian language, but also in other languages of the peoples of the BSSR, for which special departments were created at the Belarusian State Publishing House – Russian, Jewish, Polish, etc.

The curtailment of the policy of Belarusization at the end of the 1920s also affected the development of publishing: already in 1927–1928, the country’s party leadership chose a course to reduce the number of publishing houses by uniting them around the largest, the maximum reduction in the publication of departmental literature in the People’s Commissariats, a decision was made on the inexpediency of organizing cooperative book publishers and author’s publications.