Recently, in St. Petersburg, the prosecutor’s office issued a demand for bookstores and publishers to provide information on the production and distribution of books labeled as “foreign agents.” This request was made public by journalist Georgy Urushadze, who shared a photo of the document on his Facebook page.
Not long ago, State Duma deputies proposed a bill in March to limit access to literature by “foreign agents” in libraries. The bill’s explanatory note highlighted concerns about the presence of materials from foreign agents, extremists, and terrorists in public libraries. The proposed amendments aim to regulate access to such content in libraries.
Earlier in February, works by renowned authors Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Boris Akunin were removed from the electronic search system of “Moscow Libraries.” Reports indicated that instructions were given to dispose of Ulitskaya’s books and recycle any unregistered copies starting from January 31.
Furthermore, in December 2023, the AST publishing house announced a temporary halt in the distribution of books by Boris Akunin and Dmitry Bykov pending further investigation. This decision was made in response to controversial public statements made by the authors, which sparked significant public debate and necessitated legal scrutiny. Additionally, the “Read-City – Bukvoed” chain of stores suspended the sale of Boris Akunin’s books following widespread media coverage of his statements.
Source: theins.ru