Public Council was founded in Belarus to guard the moral health of the nation.

The 33-member Council on Morals includes representatives of the Orthodox, Catholic, Judaic and Muslim denominations and art unions, as well as educators and scholars, Belapan reports.

The members of the council will study controversial books, films, pictures and other works of art to provide recommendations to the government regarding “particular extremities” that cause “polar opinions and contradict society’s traditional values”.

Among the moral problems specified: the destruction of human personality and family values, the profanation of the biblical commandments, history and patriotic feelings. Who, sorry, what is to blame? Tasteless films, cruel computer games, marginal youth subcultures.

The idea behind the initiative seems to be the protection of the freedom of speech that is apparently being misused and abused in Belarus. The organ will suggest whether from the point of view of state ideology a certain book or film could be considered a piece of art.

It’s not about quality, it’s about supervision and control. There are approved “diseases” and those that should demand an extra effort from the “patient”: you can’t get this book in Minsk? Buy it on the Internet.

By the way, it’s not the first organ of its kind. And I guess not the last one.