As book censorship tightens in Russia, grassroots initiatives are emerging to preserve access to banned or truncated literature. Their participants are creating private libraries, reading clubs and home collections, while also restoring fragments removed from published books.
One such project is the George Orwell Library in Ivanovo. It was founded in 2022 by activists led by entrepreneur Dmitry Silin, who after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine bought and handed out copies of 1984, followed by other dystopian novels and books about war.
The activists later decided to open a permanent space for meetings and discussion. The librarian became Olga, 70, who had previously taught the history of Ancient Rome. The library is now open from Friday to Sunday and survives on donations. After Silin left Russia in December 2022, the project had to find a new premises because, according to participants, security officers often visited the previous address.
Sources interviewed by the publication say Silin faced administrative cases, and in May 2023 a criminal case was opened against him for repeated “discrediting” of the army. Despite this, his associates decided to keep the library alive.
The collection now contains more than 1,000 books, including works by authors labeled “foreign agents” in Russia and earlier uncensored editions. Olga says readers are deliberately not offered copies with blacked-out passages, because activists view that practice as a violation of both civil and authors’ rights.
The article also describes other forms of book resistance: closed reading clubs discussing potentially risky literature, and bloggers who since early 2026 have posted videos showing how they restore passages removed by censors. Participants say shared reading has become a way to preserve freedom of discussion and access to important books.