Because of the LGBT ban in Russia, a large-scale shadow market for books has emerged, from secret resale on marketplaces to pirated reprints and closed libraries

Because of the LGBT ban in Russia, a large-scale shadow market for books has emerged, from secret resale on marketplaces to pirated reprints and closed libraries

In Russia, because of the risk of fines and criminal cases, no literature with LGBT themes remains on the legal market. But banned texts are being sold on Avito, Wildberries, and other platforms, Verstka has found.

To get around moderation, resellers encrypt their listings: they come up with alternative titles, disguise specific books with emoji rebuses, and hide banned covers under permitted editions.

Separate projects are producing illegal paper reprints. For example, the Telegram channel “Library” offers more than 70 titles of banned books priced from 600 to 2,000 rubles, and disguises shipping as the purchase of a “notebook.” Online libraries with pirated digital copies of uncensored books are also appearing.

“The easiest thing is to say: ‘Oh, they’re pirates, they steal from authors and rake in money by the shovel-load.’ But we’re not Caribbean pirates from novels, sipping rum and not caring about anything. We invest enormous personal funds and effort to save books from oblivion and censorship, and we make this accessible to everyone,” Dmitry Rudakov, the creator of one of the major illegal libraries, told Verstka.

About how the underground literature industry works, who profits from it, and why banned books are still being read in Russia, read the story on Verstka’s website (with VPN):

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Verstka

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