February 26, 2024

Dostoyevsky, The New LGBT Propaganda


Dostoyevsky, The New LGBT Propaganda
Portrait of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Constantin Shapiro, Wikimedia Commons.

On February 20, Russian online retailer Megamarket, owned by massive financial institution Sberbankconfirmed it had stopped selling over 250 books in connection with a law banning "LGBT Propaganda." Works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Vladimir Sorokin, Haruki Murakami, and Oscar Wilde are among the removed books.

Journalist Alexander Plyushev, who has been declared a foreign agent by the Russian state, published on his Telegram a list of "Register of Goods with Forbidden Information (LGBT)" that allegedly belonged to Megamarket. Among the banned books were Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Netochka Nezvanova," Vladimir Sorokin's "The Inheritance," Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," and Haruki Murakami's "Norwegian Wood." The list also includes Stephen King's "It," "Doctor Sleep," and "The Four Seasons." Plyushev did not reveal how he got this information. 

Megamarket's representatives verified to Kommersant that the list was theirs and that the publications there were banned under the "LGBT Propaganda" law. However, readers reported seeing "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Norwegian Wood" still available on the retailer's website.

In December 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships," censoring content on the Internet, books, films, and other types of media. Books were pulled off shelves and movies and series were removed from online platforms for containing "LGBT content" before the law was even passed. Consequences for violating the "LGBT Propaganda" law include fines of up to R500,000 ($5,300). 

In November 2023, the Russian Supreme Court declared the "international LGBT social movement" an extremist organization. 

You Might Also Like

Russia's Anti LGBT+ War
  • August 15, 2023

Russia's Anti LGBT+ War

Taking stock, ten years on from Russia's passage of its first post-Soviet anti-gay law.
  • February 06, 2024

"I'm Alive" a Harrowing Escape

A gay Chechen man forced to out himself on camera vanished after the video went viral in 2022. Now, he tells his story.
My Fair Snow Maiden
  • January 04, 2024

My Fair Snow Maiden

A school's New Years party causes a stir when a male teacher dresses up as Snow Maiden.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955