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

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.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

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.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

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.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, 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