Nearly 50 cases have been opened in Russia over the distribution of books with LGBT themes. The total amount of fines has reached 37 million rubles

Nearly 50 cases have been opened in Russia over the distribution of books with LGBT themes. The total amount of fines has reached 37 million rubles

Since 2022, at least 47 administrative cases have been filed in Russia over the distribution of books with LGBT themes, and the total amount of known penalties has approached 37 million rubles, Verstka calculated.

Almost half of the cases are connected to the online library Mangalib and its project manager Ivan Kvast — from June through September 2025, Verstka found at least 24 fines under the article on “LGBT propaganda,” totaling more than 25.4 million rubles.

Books that triggered the administrative prosecution of bookstores included Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, as well as Fredrik Backman’s novels Beartown and Us Against You.

As a result, there is now no LGBT literature in official bookstores, but because of the bans an entire underground industry has emerged in Russia.

Read on Verstka’s website about how Russians manage to sell and buy banned books (with VPN):

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Verstka

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