Russian authorities are increasing pressure on people connected to books: cases against publishers continue, authors are being pushed outside the law, bookstores receive removal lists, and police raids are carried out at bookshops. At the same time, new Russian-language publishing and bookselling projects are emerging outside Russia. The discussion was prompted by two recent developments: Freedom Letters received the Association of American Publishers’ Freedom to Publish award, while the literary prize Dar was labeled a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.
Political scientist Yekaterina Shulman said emigration does not lose touch with Russia’s agenda as long as a shared information space remains intact. In her view, people are tied together by the internet, instant translation, and stable social connections, so interest in events in Russia does not simply fade with time. She argued that the authorities operate from the same premise: they are trying to sever those links by banning “foreign agents,” tightening censorship, and effectively criminalizing not only the production of content but also its consumption.
“When and if the internet is isolated in Russia, that is when it will happen,” Shulman said about a possible rupture of the shared information space.
Anonymous participants from Russia spoke about growing fear and self-censorship. One bookseller described the process as a steady tightening: first books are banned from being published, then from being sold, and later even information about prohibited subjects becomes dangerous to seek out. One publisher said the pressure is no longer limited to politically sensitive texts: claims may also target mass-market fiction if it contains references to drugs, “satanism,” or other formal pretexts. According to him, the industry has already developed a separate system of digital text screening, with software rapidly identifying fragments that could be deemed risky.
Yevgeny Kogan, founder of the Babel. Tel Aviv bookstore and publishing house, said the divide between “here” and “there” is real: buyers are afraid to bring books by Alexei Navalny, Mikhail Zygar, and other sensitive titles into Russia. At the same time, he noted a growing number of authors who can no longer publish in Russia, as well as mounting supply difficulties. The anonymous bookseller added that books disappear from shelves immediately after an author is labeled a “foreign agent,” while retrospectively checking an entire catalog against constantly changing restrictions is nearly impossible.
The speakers also pointed to the economic fallout. Because ties with some Western rights holders have been disrupted, licensing costs have risen sharply: what cost 1,500 euros in 2020 may now cost 5,000 to 7,000 euros. This is pushing publishers to look beyond the English-language market and acquire texts from Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Portugal. At the same time, Georgy Urushadze said the bans are only partly effective: Freedom Letters books still sell in Russia, especially in digital form, and the proceeds are used for new print runs and support for political prisoners.
By the end of the discussion, participants broadly agreed that the Russian-language cultural space has not been fully split apart. In Shulman’s view, the barriers between people are not emerging naturally but are being built through administrative pressure and police terror. She urged those involved, as far as possible, to preserve ties among readers, authors, publishers, and booksellers on both sides of the border.