The Vanishing Books of Dmitry Bykov

This past week, the Russian independent media outlet Mozhem Obyasnit ("We Can Explain") reported on the quiet disappearance of novels by author Dmitry Bykov from the shelves of Russia’s bookstores. The article detailed the results of efforts made by MO’s readers and correspondents to find Bykov’s works in some of the largest, most popular bookstores in Russia. Results were varied: In some stores, Bykov's works are entirely out of stock. Occasionally a book was available, but labeled with a warning about the author's political status. In one instance, a customer who inquired about Bykov was brought to a cabinet specifically holding works by authors labeled “foreign agents.” Along with Bykov’s works were those of Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Boris Akunin.

Bykov has battled Russian censors for years. In 2023, a leading publishing house, AST, suspended the printing and sale of Bykov’s books. Still, Bykov’s books are not officially banned from sale. In May, MO reported on a previous investigation into the availability of his books; they were still easily obtainable. This recent push for the elimination of Bykov’s books follows his being placed on Russia's international wanted list. Bykov has been investigated for “spreading deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.”  

In reality, Bykov has been speaking out against Putin for two decades. In 2019, he was poisoned while touring Russia to give readings of his works. The investigative outlet Bellingcat connected his poisoning to that of the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny through a Federal Security Service chemical weapons unit.

Bykov, now in the US and teaching at the University of Rochester, has embraced Russia’s disavowal. He said he believes Putin to be a mere symptom of a larger epidemic in Russian society. In 2024, Bykov told The Moscow Times that, “Putin is the hero of a performance, an actor playing a role, one written not by him but by Russia’s cyclical history. Putin expresses feelings of traditional Russian resentment that was described by Dostoyevsky in Notes from the Underground more than a century and a half ago.”

Bykov has expressed a confident hope in Russia’s future, and in the return of his works to the country's public. He is currently working on a new novel titled Intimacy, some of which is already published on the Freedom Letters website, a publishing house dedicated to the distribution of literature banned in Russia. He told MO that in some cases his books can still be ordered and delivered to Russia – in a message to Russian consumers, Bykov said, “Go to the site, order, and I’ll send you an autograph by mail.”