February 26, 2024

Dostoyevsky, The New LGBT Propaganda


Dostoyevsky, The New LGBT Propaganda
Portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Constantin Shapiro, Wikimedia Commons.

On February 20, Russian online retailer Megamarket, owned by massive financial institution Sberbankconfirmed it had stopped selling over 250 books in connection with a law banning "LGBT Propaganda." Works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Vladimir Sorokin, Haruki Murakami, and Oscar Wilde are among the removed books.

Journalist Alexander Plyushev, who has been declared a foreign agent by the Russian state, published on his Telegram a list of "Register of Goods with Forbidden Information (LGBT)" that allegedly belonged to Megamarket. Among the banned books were Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Netochka Nezvanova," Vladimir Sorokin's "The Inheritance," Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and Haruki Murakami's "Norwegian Wood." The list also includes Stephen King's "It," "Doctor Sleep," and "The Four Seasons." Plyushev did not reveal how he got this information. 

Megamarket's representatives verified to Kommersant that the list was theirs and that the publications there were banned under the "LGBT Propaganda" law. However, readers reported seeing "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Norwegian Wood" still available on the retailer's website.

In December 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships," censoring content on the Internet, books, films, and other types of media. Books were pulled off shelves and movies and series were removed from online platforms for containing "LGBT content" before the law was even passed. Consequences for violating the "LGBT Propaganda" law include fines of up to R500,000 ($5,300). 

In November 2023, the Russian Supreme Court declared the "international LGBT social movement" an extremist organization. 

You Might Also Like

Russia's Anti LGBT+ War
  • August 15, 2023

Russia's Anti LGBT+ War

Taking stock, ten years on from Russia's passage of its first post-Soviet anti-gay law.
  • February 06, 2024

"I'm Alive" a Harrowing Escape

A gay Chechen man forced to out himself on camera vanished after the video went viral in 2022. Now, he tells his story.
My Fair Snow Maiden
  • January 04, 2024

My Fair Snow Maiden

A school's New Years party causes a stir when a male teacher dresses up as Snow Maiden.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955