Statement by the Yabloko Party, adopted on 20.08.2025, published on 22.08.2025

Photo: Bookshop Podpisniye Izdaniya (Books by Subscription) in St Petersburg. Photo by Nikolai Rybakov

In recent years, repressions in the cultural sphere have intensified in the country. Contrary to the direct prohibition in the Russian Constitution (Article 29 item 5), state censorship is rapidly expanding its boundaries and penetrating all spheres of public life – from politics and journalism to schools, universities, literature and cinema.

Hundreds of people have already been sentenced to criminal terms under articles on “fakes” about the army and criticism of state bodies. Hundreds of citizens and organisations have been declared “foreign agents” and “undesirable”. In schools, a biased history textbook, where important facts are omitted or distorted, whilst words creating a positive image of Ukraine are removed from classics’ works, is imposed on children.

In violation of Article 13 item 2 of the Russian Constitution, a state ideology has been defined in the country, based on conservative-patriotic and “traditional spiritual-moral values”. The Ministry of Culture has effectively received powers to block the release of films “discrediting” these “traditional spiritual-moral values”. Books by contemporary authors are subjected to censorship or pages in them are blacked out. Some books disappear from sale entirely. Such logic leads to the situation when works of Russian classics and films of Soviet cinema beloved by millions of Russians may potentially be banned.

Criminal cases are being opened against bookshops and publishers, whilst the president’s special representative for cultural cooperation openly proposes legalising official censorship.

One striking example of forceful pressure has been the Moscow bookshop Phalanster, which for more than 20 years has been one of the few independent cultural spaces in the Russian capital. It has been hit by a flow of anonymous denunciations, unscheduled inspections and enormous fines. Phalanster and its owner Boris Kupriyanov got significant fines, with administrative proceedings initiated. The formal pretext was accusations of “propaganda of non-traditional relationships and gender change”, allegedly contained in books that were not even on the list of prohibited publications. Persecution has also affected the Podpisniye Izdaniya (Books by Subscription) bookshops in St Petersburg, Karta Mira (World Map) in Novosibirsk, and publishing houses Individuum and Popcorn Books.

We cannot regard these developments as anything other than politically motivated pressure.

This is not a fight against violations – this is a fight against independence and dissent. Authorities increasingly view culture as a threat rather than a value. Any place where alternative viewpoints are heard becomes an object of administrative and ideological persecution.

Security structures seek to control everything – not only politics, but also culture, pushing out of public space everything “different” and not fitting into the present conservative-patriotic atmosphere.

We remind: Russia’s Constitution (Article 29, part 5) directly prohibits censorship.

Yabloko stands for a lawful, democratic and modern state where every person has the right to debate and express their position, learn alternative viewpoints, create and be free.

We demand an end to pressure on independent cultural initiatives, bookshops and publishers, as well as ensuring protection of citizens’ rights to free access to culture, information and knowledge.

Culture is the foundation of human freedom. By destroying it, the state destroys the country’s future.

Nikolai Rybakov,

Yabloko Chairman