On September 1, a ban takes effect in Russia on any educational or public-outreach activity by people and organizations labeled “foreign agents”. Ahead of that date, bookstores have been clearing out books by such authors, while online lecture platforms say they will remove their materials as soon as the new rules come into force.
Journalist Ilya Azar spoke with authors, publishers, and rights advocates about how the sector is responding to the new restrictions. Music journalist Alexander Gorbachev, whose two books were published in Russia in recent months, said he is at least glad they managed to become part of the literary record before the ban and hopes readers will not throw them away.
Olga Sadovskaya, a lawyer and deputy head of the Committee Against Torture, says the law does not clearly distinguish educational outreach from simple informing. In her view, the real meaning will depend less on the text itself than on future enforcement practice. At the same time, government rules and the education law are broad enough to treat lectures, seminars, discussions, videos, research, and other online materials as outreach.
Violations are punishable under Article 19.34, Part 8 of the Administrative Code, with fines of 30,000 to 50,000 rubles for individuals and 300,000 to 500,000 rubles for legal entities. A repeat offense within a year can lead to up to two years in prison under Criminal Code Article 330.1.
There is no direct ban on bookstores selling books by “foreign agents,” but the Russian Book Union has warned of consequences: sellers of such books may lose parts of municipal support, access to public tenders, and supply arrangements with schools and libraries. Because of that, many stores spent the summer selling off, exporting, or destroying these titles. Sources in the trade describe chaos, self-censorship, and attempts to act “for safety reasons.”
“We are trying not to run ahead of the locomotive, but we will not break the law,” a representative of a regional bookstore told the publication.
While the fate of books remains disputed, interviewees say the blow to lectures and public appearances is almost certain. Anthropologist Alexandra Arkhipova said venues are increasingly cutting ties and deleting recorded talks, shrinking both the audience and the income available to many people labeled as “foreign agents.”