Statement by the Yabloko Chairman, 22.05.2025

Photo: The Podpisnye Izdaniya book store in St. Petersburg / Photo by Alexander Chizhenok, Kommersant

Security officials came to search the book publishing houses Eksmo and Individuum, and book stores Falanster, Podpisnye Izdaniya, and Karta Mira.

After the searches at the publishing houses, 11 people were interrogated and later detained. Three were placed under house arrest. According to media reports, the detainees are suspected of participating in the activities of an extremist organisation that allegedly “promoted LGBT ideology”. According to security officials, “LGBT propaganda” is allegedly contained in several books published several years ago by the independent publishing houses Individuum and Popcorn Books, now part of Eksmo.

Earlier, security officials, acting on denunciations, came to inspect the bookstores Falanster (Moscow), Podpisnye Izdaniya (Saint Petersburg) and Karta Mira (Novosibirsk) – books were confiscated, administrative cases were opened, including for alleged participation in the activities of an undesirable organisation.

We note that repressions in the country are moving into the mass stage and are capturing ever wider areas of culture. Bans on books, films, plays, exhibitions, and songs are multiplying; writers, directors, actors, and musicians are declared foreign agents, terrorists and extremists; authors’ fees and royalties are confiscated; pages of books are being deleted, scenes in films that allegedly do not correspond to certain “traditional values” are “bleeped out” and “blurred up”; television programmes are being cancelled, the names of authors who do not agree with the political course of the authorities are being cut from films, theatre posters and publications. Now they have reached the point of initiating criminal cases for publishing and selling books.

The repressions have affected organisations that are not connected with politics, but are engaged in their professional publishing and other legal activities.

The security forces that have received a political order have turned into censorship structures and intend to control not only political activities, but also art and culture in general.

Beyond any law, any alternative points of view are declared unlawful – not only on political issues, but also on any social issues, any points of view and assessments that do not support the pseudo-patriotic and supposedly conservative atmosphere being created in the country today.

We are witnessing a repetition of the worst Soviet totalitarian practices, when the state controlled all public life, including art and culture. It is no coincidence that memorial signs to Joseph Stalin, on whose hands is the blood of thousands of poets, writers, artists, actors, directors, scientists and publishers, are been returned throughout the country.

All these actions are directly aimed at destroying freedoms in our country. The destruction of citizens’ rights, liberties, and public freedoms, undermines the very foundations of the state. One of the main reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was the absence of civil rights and freedoms.

The Yabloko party demands the release of the innocent publishing house employees, an end to the fight against independent book publishing, abandonment of attempts to form a unified state ideology, the abolition of censorship, the elimination of arbitrary actions by law enforcement agencies, and the release of all political prisoners.

Nikolai Rybakov,

Yabloko Chairman