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

Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
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.
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.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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.

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