May 22, 2025

Russia's War on Books


Russia's War on Books
Books from Eksmo's "exclusive classics" collection. Bbj, Wikimedia Commons.

On May 14, police in Moscow raided the largest publishing house in Russia and arrested 10 former and current employees involved in shipping, management, and accounting. Authorities are investigating the firm's editorial content for "LGBT propaganda."

The company Eksmo acquired an over 51 percent stake at publishing houses Popcorn Books and Individuum in 2023. Now it is being investigated for the books published by both these companies.

Popcorn Books is known for publishing fanfics and romance novels. In 2021, it published Elena Malisova and Yekaterina Silvanova's "Leto v Pionerskom Galstuke("Pioneer Summer"). The queer romance novel sold 250,000 copies, becoming Russia's second place bestseller that year. However, Russian officials quickly tried to limit its circulation, drawing up protocols against Popcorn. Malisova and Silvanova were declared foreign agents shortly afterward. After the "LGBT propaganda" ban came into force in 2022, Popcorn Books began printing their books with a black binding, citing article 29 of the Russian constitution, which guarantees free speech.

Individuum, which specializes in nonfiction, published Rustam Alexander's 2023 book "Zakritye. Zhizn Gomoseksualnov v SSSR" ("Red Closet: The Hidden History of Gay Oppresion in the USSR"). In March 2025, the publisher was denied participation at a nonfiction book fair held in April in Moscow. 

The homes and offices of current and former employees were also raided. Eksmo's distribution director, the heads of Popcorn Books and Individuum, a former sales director, and a former accountant were all among the employees detained. Most were released after being interrogated. However, former sales director Pavel Ivanov, warehouse manager Artem Vakhlyaev, and executive director Dmitry Protopopov have been criminally charged. Chief accountant Inessa Nurtdinova and distribution director Anatoly Norovyatkin were released but may still face charges.

After the publisher's employees were detained, shops nationwide received from authorities a list of books published by Eksmo that are subject to destruction. "We once again ask you, in case any remain, to dispose of the books on site or return the remaining products to our address via next day delivery," reads the letter. Out of the 48 books cited, only one was from Individuum. The rest were from Popcorn Books.

 

You Might Also Like

Fleeting Freedom
  • March 16, 2025

Fleeting Freedom

A Ural journalist was released from jail, only to be re-arrested.
Russia Comes for Norwegians
  • February 09, 2025

Russia Comes for Norwegians

The independent Norwegian news site The Barents Observer has been declared "undesirable" by the Russian government.
No Laughing Matter
  • January 28, 2025

No Laughing Matter

A Belarusian comedian has been labeled an "extremist" in his home country.
Belarus Bans Emigrant Connections
  • January 06, 2025

Belarus Bans Emigrant Connections

The Belarusian government has listed a handful of Telegram chats used by Belarusian emigrants living in Warsaw as "extremist materials."
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
A Taste of Chekhov

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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, 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