Translated material
Book market: stay alive
On the results of summer censorship and what is still going to ban from September 1
Photo: Alexey Dushutin / "New Gazeta"
This summer, we became spectators of a grand performance under the name “Canceling Russian Literature” - his producer and director, as adopted recently, the government spoke. Of course, this cancellation began earlier, but it is difficult to recall another season, the program of which would be so saturated with censorship. The summer time has begun for scribes in shock and fear from the “publishing” case, and the megarages of the “foreign agents” ends: total restrictions for these authors come into force on September 1, their educational activity is completely prohibited. The law is formulated deliberately slurred, so no one can say for sure whether it falls under this formulation, for example, the sale of books. Lawyers say different, there are many speculations, but at the end of June, the Russian Book Union released the already famous memo with a warning, which says black and white:
"The books of foreign agents as a whole are a group of publications of high risk for bookstores."
At the end of August, the RKS recalled one more thing: from September 1, scribes implementing the books of "foreign Agents" will be deprived of benefits. In addition, from September 1, the ban on advertising on resources recognized in the Russian Federation “undesirable” (Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, recognized extremist and prohibited in the Russian Federation), as well as on the resources, access to which is limited (YouTube and Discord). That is, it will not be officially to promote books there.
Someone still decided to pull the time and wait for any clarity. So, Eksmo asked government agencies if, after September 1, it was possible to sell the books of “Ino -Agents”, ”the publishing director Yevgeny Kapyev said about this“ Business FM ”. “Based on this, we will already make a decision, because, based on the law, it is not clear whether it is possible or cannot be done,” he said. After September 1, the books of “foreign agents” from sales, after September 1, have not yet given a direct answer to the question, Kapyev has not yet given.
At the same time, most of the scribes did not wait and began to arrange the sales of “foreign” books with discounts. As a result, a huge promotion was published throughout the country. Discounts and sales were announced by large publications and bookstores, both independent and network. And here it became clear that the disappearance threatens not only to the author’s books, but in general to any books to which “foreign agents” are related. The St. Petersburg publication “Paper” noted that even one of the publications of the Gospel is threatened, since the priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vyatenko*wrote notes to him by the “Ino-Agent”. At a discount, they sell, for example, the story of Franz Kafka “Transformation”, translated by the human rights activist and Germanist Irina Shcherbakova*, as well as the novel by Yukio Mishima “Golden Temple”, the translation of which was made by writer Boris Akunin*.
The “Ino -Agents” courses are forced to delete the largest educational and educational projects, such as Arzamas and “Stradarium”. The magazine "Gorbi"*has already been closed due to "Inoagenia". From September 1, the Russian platform for monetizing the Boosty Content will prohibit the “foreign Agents” to publish new posts (the editorial office of The Bell*received such a warning). The service of Ridero is removed from the publication of the book "Ino -Agents" (the letter from the service received, in particular, publisher George Urushadze*).
In the lists of authors, whose books after September 1 are most likely to disappear from the shelves, Viktor Vakhstein*, Linor Goralik*, Sergey Aleksashenko*, Dmitry Glukhovsky*, Anton Dolin*, Dmitry Bykov*, Lyudmila Ulitskaya*, Alexander Genis*. Most likely, all the books to which Ekaterina Shulman*, Alexander Arkhangelsky*, Alexander Arkhanpova*, Nikolai Epple*, Vladimir Sorokin and many others are related.
You can’t list everyone: rarely, someone from the list of “foreign agents” does not write, there everything, as for selection, is creative people.
And from September 1, for the “purposeful” search for “extremist content”, fines of up to five thousand rubles await us - the amount is still small, but we already know how easily and quickly the law can be tightened. The way this bill was pulled through the Duma is a separate plot; They were indignant even by notebook propagandists, but in the end he was accepted. And this means that the fine threatens, in particular, to those who decide to look on the Internet, for example, by Alexei Navalny's autobiography, Patriot, since at the very end of July this book was included in the list of extremist materials.
By the way, according to the new legislation, now any community (even without a legal entity) can be recognized as an extremist organization if any participant is found guilty of organizing or participating in the activities of an extremist organization.
And even that is not all. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation banned the "International Movement of Satanism" **. True, in the absence of representatives of this movement - they could not appear, since they do not exist, just as there is no movement itself. Therefore, it remains traditionally unclear what it is understood by the “movement” that has fallen as a ban and how the restriction of its activity will be realized. Even the loyal "University Book" warns:
“The works that mention this topic, a lot, are classics, including, given the slurred formulations, the lack of transparent criteria and the activity of indifferent citizens, the consequences can be different. Be careful, colleagues. "
The decision of the Supreme Court made on the basis of the examination of the religious scholar and the “destructologist” the novel by Silantyev, who became famous for the fact that it was his expertise that formed the basis of “Theater Affairs” by Zhenya Berkovich and Svetlana Petriychuk. Then even the federal center of forensic examination refused to recognize the “destructurology” for science, but this time, apparently, there were no questions. “At the same time, the ban on Satanism will concern not only those people who worship Satan itself, but also all adherents of the Dark Gods,” Silantyev promised pathetically. Clarity, however, does not add such a comment.
Lists, registers, inventories - a convenient thing. It is convenient that they can be replenished to infinity. Among the many “foreign agents” have been in the register, scribes and people related to literature are the poetess Natalya Reznik*, poet and rapper from Yekaterinburg Naum Blik*, writer Mark Solonin*, research platform Tamizdat Project*dedicated to the study of prohibited books from the USSR.
And although in the second half of summer the repressive emphasis shifted to the “foreign” theme, but the authorities do not forget, of course, and about the propaganda of Childfri and LGBT **. It was according to the article on the promotion of non-traditional relations that a new protocol against the “Signature Publications” store made-however, this was terminated due to the statute of limitations, the Kuibyshevsky district court of St. Petersburg did not finish the book. Maybe because he was already fined 800 thousand rubles under a similar article.
Another independent bookstore - the “phalanx” - failed to avoid a giant fine. The lawyer also tried to appeal to the expiration of the statute of limitations, but this time the judge of the Tver court of Moscow did not heed the advocate of the defender and fined Falanster 800 thousand rubles, and his co -founder Boris Kupriyanov, who did not plead guilty, personally for another 100 thousand for participation in an “unwanted” organization. In May, Kupriyanova and the store were also fined under the article on an “undesirable organization” for 40 thousand and 80 thousand rubles, respectively. The penalty for the bookstore is huge, but Falanster not only does not plan to close, but also did not declare a fundraiser. The best way to help the shops in such a situation is to buy books there.
Less-in-known books fall under repressions: so, “Mediazona”* found that the protocol on non-compliance with the instructions of the Law on Ino-Agents was drawn up on the book online store “Sabtaym”, but the court found that the papers were made incorrectly, and returned them to the Ministry of Justice.
In the last days of August, it became known that the protocol under the article on the “propaganda of LGBT” drew up to the publishing house “New Literary Review”. This is also an innovation: before publishers under this article were not subjected to persecution. And all summer there are serious pressure on the largest online bibliotext of comics and manga in Russian Mangalib. In August, she was also fined - a total of 14 million rubles in protocols about the “propaganda of LGBT”. Among the “guilty” publications, for example, the cover of the manga “Fuzosi Haru-chan loves to drink”, on which, according to RKN, two men's characters are depicted-
"One of them lifts the chin of the other, as if he was going to kiss."
Even commercially successful projects do not regret: books of the fantasy series “Blessing of the celestials” of the Chinese author Mosyan Tunsu were very popular in the Russian Federation were sent for additional analysis in connection with the receipt of the complaint, the sale is currently suspended. Mosyan Tunsu's books invariably occupied the upper lines in a wide variety of ratings. Moreover, in Russia they were produced “in a promoted version with reductions”, but even this did not help them.
In addition, this summer several iconic "literary" ships took place, of which, of course, the case of Boris Akunin stands out. Boris Akunin and Dmitry Bykov are perhaps the most hated writers for the authorities: they are still very popular, and they are not embarrassed in expressions, expressing their position. But even in such a context, the trial of Akunin struck his absurdity. The writer in absentia was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security colony immediately under three articles of the Criminal Code, one of which is “foreign”, and two were “terrorist”. Akunin in court was represented by an appointment lawyer who admitted to reporters that he had never communicated with Boris Akunin, and doubted that the writer knew about his existence.
Bykova was arrested in absentia and put on the international wanted list.
These processes are beaten into the eyes, and I dare to assume that this is done on purpose: they are clearly aimed not so much at the writers themselves as at their audience, and the only rational motive of such processes is to recapture, break readers from them.
In August, the publication “We can explain”* found out that Dmitry Bykov’s books almost disappeared from Russian bookstores and online networks. In the libraries they are hidden in closed cabinets, as one of the employees expressed, for "authors with long tongues."
In addition to these "literary" processes there were others. The 2nd Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction left the sentences to the poets Artem Kamardin and Yegor Stvybe in the Mayakovsky case. Young people will also remain in the colony, where Kamardin’s, according to the OVD-Info*, health is worsening. He also talks about a serious depressive state, experiences problems with his back. The defendants of the “affairs of the publishers” were not released from house arrest, and on July 8 he was extended for another four months. And the St. Petersburg City Court upheld the sentence of 19-year-old Daria Kozyreva for the verses of Taras Shevchenko. “My article is a shame on legislation, my business is a shame for those who began to sew this matter to me. If I pleaded guilty, it would be a real shame, a shame on me, ”said the unbending Daria in court (quote for the publication“ Paper ”*). Let me remind you that Kozyrev was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in a colony in the case of re-discrediting the army due to anti-war shares. Within the framework of one of them on February 24, 2024, she glued a poster on the monument to Taras Shevchenko, on which an excerpt from his poem “Testament” was written.
Even the court in St. Petersburg forbade three books by historian Viktor Suvorov-“Icebreaker. Who started the Second World War? ”,“ When M. When the Second World War began? ” and "Cleansing. Why did Stalin decapit his army? ”
Against this background, things such as removing from festival programs no longer look like something extraordinary-and yet it is also impossible not to notice this violent censorship. The Book Festival "Red Line" in Yekaterinburg barely managed to hold - the power structures had claims to organize measures of safety measures. It was possible to coordinate it at the last moment, but not all fell into the festival. From the program at the last moment, the St. Petersburg “Publishing House of Ivan Limbakha” was removed and, as Kommersant ”, general director of the publishing house Alexander Trofimov, also AD Marginem and Garage told.
“They said they were told to them,” Trofimov reports to the rationale for such a decision by the organizers.
According to the head of the publisher, they had plans to bring one book “Inoagent” to the festival, but it was packed and marked by law. In addition, it was not offered to remove it or in any other way to adjust the program.
In addition, the performance of the Ural poet Oleg Dozmorov, who is now living in England, deleted from the Red Line program. According to the portal 66.ru, the “patriotic” edition of Urallive, which is associated with the net of propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, opposed Domorov. And at the Book Festival “White June” in Arkhangelsk, the editor of the Black Square publishing house Mikhail Tsovmu was detained. He managed to work out there for one day, and then, on his own story, “talked not with readers, but with operatives from the local center of opposition to extremism.”
The security forces found 59 “suspicious” books in him, including for some reason Thomas Mann and Leo Rubinstein.
If you try to generalize all these chronicles of book repressions, then we can say that the vast majority of legislative initiatives and repressive practices, along with traditional power methods, are now aimed at developing self -censorship. The authorities do not particularly hide this. A bright illustration is the news that the mincifers, Ministry of Culture, Roskomnadzor and Rosmolodezh will work out a mechanism for voluntary restriction of access to “potentially dangerous content”. That is, they want us to beat ourselves hands and do not consume anything “potentially dangerous”.
The saddest thing is that such measures cannot but be effective, because self -censorship from the field of morality has left, this is already a matter of survival - including physical.