Russian authorities have surged forward in their enforcement of this censorship, launching a nationwide round of police raids on the nation’s bookstores. In early October, officials arrested students from a pre-compiled list of 48 prohibited titles. Their intent was to get these things out of circulation. This extreme and dangerous step represents a very real return of censorship. It hearkens back to the worst days of Soviet censorship and casts a pall over the future of literary expression in Russia.
Unlike in the early 1990s, when Russia enjoyed a short window of openness and censorship was formally removed, today’s repression is being implemented and made acceptable. These policies have again been threatened in our recent political climate with the return of harsh restrictions on artistic and intellectual expression. In May, Eksmo, Russia’s largest publishing house, got into serious trouble. When ten people associated with the company were arrested in Moscow, there was a highly organized public outcry. This unfortunate episode terrified writers and publishers alike. It demonstrated how far authorities are willing to go to silence angry or dissenting voices.
Eksmo recently purchased a 51% stake in Individuum, a Moscow-based imprint focused on producing, importing, and distributing uncensored literature. This dedication to literary freedom is under grave threat. In fact, several of the authors connected to Individuum have since been designated as “foreign agents,” a designation which carries severe penalties in Russia. Felix Sandalov is the editorial director of Individuum and co-founder of StraightForward, an organization that promotes uncensored literature. On social media, Cole has been candid about the issues writers are experiencing in this new climate.
The development of this body of legislation has further restricted or criminalized the expression of dissenting voices in multiple arenas—including freedom of expression online and offline. In 2022, these same officials pushed through legislation criminalizing “LGBT propaganda” directed toward adults. By 2023, they went even further and labeled the “international LGBT public movement” as extremist. To add to this extinctionist repression, a new law would criminalize “propaganda” encouraging people not to have kids, increasingly closing off space for free expression and dissent.
In this current wave of book-banning hysteria, no literary figure has been immune—even beloved Shakespeare. Russian editions of Susan Sontag’s “Against Interpretation” and Olivia Laing’s “Everybody” were withdrawn from sale as part of this broader crackdown. Elena Malisova & Katerina Sylvanova’s bestselling novel Пионерское лето (Пioneer Summer), released in 2021, is now facing backlash. These draconian laws are testing the limits of that book hard.
The letter Z, which has become a dangerous new symbol of Russia’s military imperialism, invaded the cultural environment. Martha Gellhorn’s The Face of War, for instance, has cover art that goes far in visually illustrating this form’s emblem. Such symbols are illustrative of the way in which state politics and cultural production have become more tightly interwoven in post‐2014 Russia.
Under this repressive campaign, many writers and readers alike worry that cherished literary masterpieces will be the first victims of an ideological bloodbath. Victoria, a writer who speaks on these issues, described the struggle for artistic expression in Russia today as “a form of ideological opposition and survival in this totalitarian nightmare.”
As long as officials are looking to districts and statehouses to silence opposition through censorship, the future of literature remains uncertain. As governments pursue more aggressive agendas to silence critical voices and state-sanctioned narratives, the American literary community finds itself in a chronic crisis.
“Manuscripts don’t burn.” – Satan from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”