Burned identity. How a book on identity politics was censored in Russia due to laws banning LGBTQ+ as “extremist”

The Russian publisher Individuum has removed all references to LGBTQ+ people from its translation of “The Identity Trap”, a new book by the political scientist Yascha Mounk. The move was a response to the country’s laws targeting “extremist organisations” and specifically the LGBTQ+ community.

Passages in the book discussing gender identity have been replaced with a legal disclaimer which refers to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the so-called “international LGBT social movement” as a (non-existent) extremist group.

The decision comes as Individuum and other independent publishers find themselves in the crosshairs of a widening government campaign against LGBTQ+ rights. In May 2025, several of the publisher’s employees were arrested and placed under house arrest in connection with an “extremism” case that has sent shockwaves through Russia’s book publishing world.

One of the original passages in Mounk’s book reads: “Some people feel that their gender does not match their biological sex. We should allow them to live as they wish and celebrate the greater acceptance of trans people.” In place of this and other similar sections, the Russian text now carries the legal warning.

“Some people feel that […] (according to Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation, the propaganda and public display of the symbols or attributes of extremist organisations are prohibited; in January 2024, a ruling by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognising the ‘international LGBT social movement’ as an extremist organisation came into force — Ed.).”

Explaining the decision to Mediazona, Individuum said the disclaimer was used because their head editor “dislikes black bars in nonfiction books”. The black bars comment refers to a practice in Russian book publishing with specific words or passages simply blacked out, turning the black bar into a visual symbol of censorship, both an affront and a concession to it.

The censorship is the culmination of years of mounting legal pressure. Russia’s initial 2013 law prohibiting the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors was significantly expanded in late 2022 to encompass all age groups. The legislation eventually led to the designation of the LGBT community as an “extremist organization,” which clearly never existed. This effectively outlawed any LGBTQ+ activities or public portrayals in media, art, and online.

The law’s vagueness has fostered confusion, fear and self-censorship, even as Vladimir Putin continues to insist that homosexual relationships have not been banned, only the so-called “propaganda.” Much like the “foreign agents” law—continually broadened yet defined as a mere legal formality rather than a tool to stigmatize and criminalize dissent—this one achieves repression without even needing a list of banned books.

This May, the campaign was escalated further: a dozen people were detained in coordinated police raids on several publishing houses, including Individuum, its sister imprint Popcorn Books, and even a distribution director at the major publisher Eksmo. The operation, officially linked to “extremism” charges, targeted staff connected to the publication of books with LGBTQ+ themes, including the 2021 bestseller “Summer in a Pioneer Tie”, a novel about a romance between two young men at a Soviet-era youth camp; its wild success made Popcorn Books a primary target of pro-Kremlin conservatives’ criticism.