July 09, 2026

How to Get a Banned Book


How to Get a Banned Book
A bookstore can be a dangerous place. The Russian Life files.

The independent publication Verstka has discovered that banned books are being secretly sold on Russian marketplaces. The titles of the books are not mentioned in the announcements; instead, there are codes, puzzles, and hints that lead potential buyers toward their book of choice.

The censorship measures that began in 2022 with the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine have continued to expand. Access is restricted to books by authors designated as "foreign agents,” books mentioning narcotic substances, and books that freely interpret historical events. But the most dangerous is LGBT literature. The distribution of such books is punishable by enormous fines and criminal charges.

And so, a shadow market for banned publications has formed. For example, on the main Russian private buying and selling service “Avito,” you can find ads like “a book about the USSR and pioneers.” Instead of a photo of the product, the images show pioneer uniforms; a man pressing his finger to his lips, and a swallow. This is a code for the novel “Summer in a Pioneer Tie” and its sequel “What the Swallow Is Silent About.” This is Russia's most talked-about LGBT-story, dedicated to the relationship between a pioneer leader and a boy, which led to the initiation of the “publishers' case.” Verstka has found hundreds of similar ads – according to their authors, the demand for the book is very high.

Other books are sold the same way. For example, an ad showing hearts in the colors of the British flag and the emoji of a king refers to the book "Red, White & Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston – a romance about the relationship between the son of the American president and the heir to the British throne.

There are other ways to distribute banned books. While the ads on Avito sell official editions published before the ban, the project "Library" sells reprints. These are illegal copies that are printed underground – essentially, modern-day "samizdat."

As for the legendary "tamizdat," its revival began even earlier. The first emigrant publishing houses, which put out books that were risky to publish in Russia, appeared shortly after the war began, and today there are more than a dozen such initiatives. Recently, several of these projects have joined forces to create an electronic online library. Those who are in Russia will be able to read the latest tamizdat releases free of charge.

Today, access to banned literature in Russia is much easier than during the Soviet era. Moreover, it is mainly the sellers (if they are inside the country) who are at risk, while buyers and readers hardly take any. In Soviet times, one could be arrested simply for having the “wrong” book in their home, but that is not the case in modern Russia. Yet...

 

You Might Also Like

Soviet Dissent: Genesis and Heirs
  • March 01, 2016

Soviet Dissent: Genesis and Heirs

Half a century ago, the Soviet dissent movement began when two young writers were put on trial for publishing their works abroad and “slandering the state.” We consider how this relates to modern events.
Reading Between Black Lines
  • April 09, 2026

Reading Between Black Lines

In Russia, censored pages are sparking underground libraries, secret book clubs, and quiet acts of literary resistance.
Patriotic Post-Humanism
  • March 11, 2026

Patriotic Post-Humanism

The concept of a “plant-foreign agent” has appeared in Russian legislation. 
Russia's War on Books
  • May 22, 2025

Russia's War on Books

Police in arrested 10 current and former employees of Russia's largest publishing house on charges of "LGBT propaganda."
The Soviet Creative
  • April 05, 2021

The Soviet Creative

In the Soviet period, artists were treated with esteem and lived comfortably, but their privileged position also required sacrifice.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

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.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

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