Russia's stifled cultural scene

RUSSIAN bookseller Lyubov Belyatskaya sighed as she lamented the "climate of widespread anxiety" that has taken hold in her native Saint Petersburg amid the war in Ukraine.

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Once dubbed Russia's "window to Europe", the city has long been the country's cultural capital, a hotbed of independent thinking, artistic expression and underground dissent.

But as authorities ratchet up repression, trying to stamp out any sign, no matter how small or subtle, of public opposition to the Kremlin or the Ukraine offensive, Belyatskaya said she senses the city retreating inwards.

"We can no longer write the way we used to, joke about certain things," she said.

"Both our words and actions are severely restricted."

The effect is being seen on the shelves of her bookshop - called "Vse Svobodny" or "Everyone is free" - in the city centre.

"Every week we literally have to remove books for one reason or another," Belyatskaya said.

Since launching its offensive on Ukraine, Russia has deployed a full legislative arsenal to silence anyone who criticises the campaign.

Those who breach wartime censorship face decade-long prison sentences.

Some authors - like late opposition leader Alexei Navalny - are completely banned.