The head of the Eksmo publishing house, Evgeny Kapyev, was detained

We are talking about the books “Summer in a Pioneer Tie” and “What the Swallow is Silent About”

The general director of the Eksmo publishing house, Evgeny Kapyev, was detained in Moscow. Sources from RBC and Kommersant were the first to report this. The information was confirmed by interlocutors in the book industry. Later it became known that several more employees of the publishing house were detained.

The publishing house's offices were searched in connection with a criminal case on organizing the activities of an extremist organization. The maximum penalty under the article is up to eight years in prison.

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The essence of the charges

According to sources, the investigation links the case to the distribution of literature with so-called LGBT themes.

We are talking about the books “Summer in a Pioneer Tie” (the best-selling novel in the first half of 2022), “What the Swallow is Silent About” and other books. The investigation is checking the circumstances of the publication and distribution of these works, including possible sales to minors.

According to media reports, a version of creating a mechanism for distributing such literature within the holding is being considered. Kapyev, according to preliminary data, is involved in the case in the status of a suspect; his procedural status must be determined after interrogation.

At the end of March, Kapyev complained that due to the introduction of mandatory labeling, publishing house employees must check more than 3 million titles of books published since 1990, RBC writes.

How are investigative actions carried out?

The searches, according to sources, took place at several addresses associated with Eksmo and affiliated structures. Investigators are examining documentation, contracts, and supply and sales chains for books.

Market interlocutors note that the investigation’s attention is focused not only on individual episodes, but also on the distribution system and editorial policy of the publishing house. Some industry participants are awaiting official clarification.

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Previous cases and publishing projects

Current investigative actions are related to earlier criminal cases against employees of the Popcorn Books and Individuum publishing houses, which were part of the Eksmo structure.
In 2025, three employees were accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. According to investigators, they distributed books among minors “promoting the activities of the LGBT movement.”

Some defendants remain under house arrest. The publishing house Popcorn Books, which published a significant part of the high-profile books, ceased operations in 2026 . Individuum was founded in 2015 and specialized in contemporary non-fiction and fiction for young audiences.

Legislative grounds

In Russia, there is a ban on the dissemination of information about LGBT people, introduced in an expanded form at the end of 2022. It applies to any form of public content, including books, films and online publications.

In 2023, the defunct " international LGBT movement " is declared extremist. This made it possible to apply the criminal article on organizing the activities of an extremist organization not only to associations, but also to individual products, if their distribution is interpreted as support for prohibited activities.

Possible implications for the market

The investigation may affect not only specific publishing houses, but also the practice of publishing and distributing books in general.

Market players are discussing the risks of tightening editorial policy, abandoning some topics and strengthening internal censorship . Special attention is paid to cooperation with foreign authors and publishers, as well as issues of translation and import of literature.

Who is Evgeny Kapyev

Evgeny Kapyev was born on May 29, 1980 in Belgorod. Graduated from the Financial Academy under the Government of Russia, studied at IMD (Switzerland), Synergy Business School and Singularity University.

He has been working at Eksmo since 2007 and has served as CEO since 2018. Since 2019, he has headed the Russian Book Union Committee on International Cooperation.

Under his leadership, the rights to books by Russian authors were sold in more than 30 countries, and Eksmo maintained its position as one of the largest publishing holdings in Russia.

Photo: Entrance to the Eksmo publishing house in Moscow. Yandex.Maps

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