Applebaum, a renowned journalist and author who is also the wife of Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, received praise for her latest bestselling work from the world-famous movie star.
Natalie Portman applauds Anne Applebaum’s new book
"Thank you for writing this book, Anne Applebaum - a guide to understanding where autocracies come from, why they persist, and how the democratic world can defeat them," wrote the globally renowned actress Natalie Portman on her Instagram profile on Wednesday.
Photo: IG/@natalieportman
"Pretty cool. Natalie Portman is among the readers of Autocracy, Inc., the powerful book by Anne Applebaum. It's a smart and important read, explaining the web of corruption among the world's dictators," commented the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times and MSNBC analyst on X (formerly Twitter).
In early April, Belarus’s Ministry of Information expanded its list of prohibited books by 92 titles, claiming they could potentially harm national interests, according to the independent news portal Euroradio.fm.
The banned books list includes Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956 - one of Anne Applebaum’s works - as well as Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, which was adapted into a 2012 film directed by Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, and Lilly Wachowski, among other titles.
Belarus bans more books, including Anne Applebaum’s works
This is not the first time a book by the American journalist and historian has been blacklisted in Belarus. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag: A History had previously been added to the banned list.
The so-called "list of extremist materials," maintained by the Ministry of Information, was established in 2008. New additions - including independent media outlets, social media accounts focused on socio-political topics, and books - are included based on court rulings. The list currently spans 1,578 pages.
The writer and journalist Anne Applebaum after being awarded an honorary doctorate by Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) on November 25, 2024, in Lublin, eastern Poland. Photo: PAP/Wojtek Jargiło
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Source: IAR/PAP/X/Instagram/@natalieportman/X/@peterbakernyt