Russia’s law against books by ‘foreign agents’ signals tightening grip

Before the new censorship legislation came into force, some authors reportedly enjoyed a brief spike in sales

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(Al Jazeera) Boris Akunin is one of Russia’s most popular authors. Erast Fandorin, his series of historical detective novels, has been adapted into feature films and TV miniseries. But he is also an enemy of the state, having been branded a “foreign agent” by the Russian authorities last year.

Akunin, whose real name is Grigory Chkhartishvili, has been outspoken against President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The ‘foreign agent’ label is the least of my problems; there are already more than a thousand ‘foreign agents’,” Akunin told Al Jazeera from London.

“Compared to the fact that a military court sentenced me to 14 years in prison for ‘justifying terrorism’ — that is, Ukraine’s right to defend itself — as well as putting me on the international wanted list, this is nothing.”

Bookstores and other retailers in Russia had already been pulling Akunin’s books from the shelves before 01 September, when new restrictions were imposed.

Although selling books by designated “foreign agents” is not formally a crime, booksellers now, thanks to a law signed by Putin in April, risk complications for their business, such as possible fines and being barred from working with libraries and other public institutions.

The law bans so-called foreign agents from participating in educational or campaign activities. It also bars them from receiving support from local authorities or being on the boards of state corporations.

As such, in recent months, many retailers have been purging their stock of blacklisted authors.

Artem Faustoy, the proprietor of Vse Svobodny (“Everybody is Free”), an independent book shop in St Petersburg, said there was plenty of interest in these rogue writers.

“By September 1, almost all of the ‘foreign agent’ books had been sold out,” he said.