September 09, 2025

Manga Library Fined as "Destructive"


Manga Library Fined as "Destructive"
Manga Library Immanuel Giel, Wikimedia Commons

Mangalib, a Russian online manga library, has been heavily fined by Moscow’s Tagansky District Court for violating Russia’s expansive ban of “LGBT propaganda.” Mangalib was targeted for seven specific comics in their library, incurring fines totaling R14 million (around $170,000).

Mediazona reported that Mangalib Project Manager Ivan Kvast had accumulated personal fines totaling one million rubles ($12,3000) for related offenses prior to this major fine. The website had taken steps earlier in the summer to regulate content, introducing a complaince mechanism through which users could report “propaganda.” But Mangalib’s library of work is user-uploaded, making total regulation a difficult process.

Russia’s media and internet censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, listed the titles of the seven comics it found to be problematic, along with the reasoning behind their censorship. Among the works was “Banana Fish,” an extremely popular series serialized from 1985-1994 and considered influential in the depiction of male homosexuality in manga. The comic features a central relationship between two male characters, which is never explicitly romantic but commonly accepted as homoerotic. This relationship is stated as the reason for the fine.

Also among the comics cited as dangerous is one without any homosexual themes at all. The comic “Fujoshi Haru-chan wa Osake Suki” was penalized for its cover art, which Roskomnador states is depicting two men positioned as if about to kiss. In court, this claim was actively disputed, as one of the aforementioned characters was female. This manga still elicited a fine.

Since being fined, Mangalib has begun to strengthen its regulation measures. It is as yet unclear how effective such measures are or will be. The most popular manga currently in Mangalib’s library is “One Piece,” a work of over 100 volumes which, in its vast history, has featured characters with canonical transgender identities, as well as characters considered queer-coded. With Russia’s censorship regulations often both stringent and arbitrary, Mangalib and other online libraries will likely continue to face significant penalties.  

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

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.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

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.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

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.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

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.

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