Moscow libraries pull books by Stephen Fry and Haruki Murakami after ‘LGBT propaganda’ law

© Provided by The i Stephen Fry was critical of ‘LGBT propaganda’ laws when they were introduced in 2013 and campaigned for Russia to be stripped of the Winter Olympics the following year (Photo: PA)

Moscow libraries are removing books by prominent authors such as Stephen Fry and Haruki Murakami in response to new laws against “LGBT propaganda,” according to a Russian literary journalist.

Sergey Lebedenko posted a document on Telegram that he said had been sent to libraries in the Moscow area containing a list of 53 titles to be taken off shelves and deleted from electronic catalogues to prevent them being issued.

The list contains works from award-winning novelist Murakami and British comic Fry, as well as bestselling authors Sarah Waters, Michael Cunningham, and John Boyne.

On December 5, Vladimir Putin signed into law a stronger version of existing legislation against “LGBT propaganda”.

The law prohibits “demonstration of LGBT-related information, and information inciting sex change among adolescents” to any audience, whereas previous legislation specified such material could not be shown to children.

The law covers internet publishing, media, books, cinema, and advertising. Violations can be punished by fines of up to 10m rubles (£117,000) for organisations and 1m rubles (£11,700) for individuals.

Russian journalists previously reported that book stores in Moscow have been forbidden from displaying the work of authors critical of the war in Ukraine or designated as “foreign agents”, such as novelist Boris Akunin and science-fiction author Dmitry Glukhovsky.

Russian booksellers have expressed concern at the wave of censorship they are facing. “Discontent can be caused by one random word that someone did not like,” said Mikhail Ivanov, co-founder of the Subscriptions Editions bookstore in St Petersburg, in a recent interview. “They want us to clean everything up with self-censorship.”

The purge will continue, according to Mr Lebedenko, who said that library staff have been alerted to further titles designated for removal. He speculated that books would likely be burned as the most straightforward means of disposal.

“The only hope is on the conscience and courage of the librarians to resist covertly,” he wrote.

American writer Michael Cunningham, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours, described the censorship of literature as an “insult”.

“The burning of any books, of any kind, is a serious insult to citizens,” he said in a statement to i. “It reduces the chronicle of life in its many, various forms. It literally shrinks the world, not just for LGBTQ people but for anyone interested in lives other than their own.”

The author added that the decision “can only promote mistrust and hatred”.

British writer Mr Fry was critical of “LGBT propaganda” laws when they were introduced in 2013 and campaigned for Russia to be stripped of the Winter Olympics the following year.

President Putin “is making scapegoats of gay people, just as Hitler did Jews”, he wrote in an open letter to then prime minister, David Cameron, and the International Olympic Committee.

The censorship of literature and the suppression of LGBT expression is part of President Putin’s “war on civil society”, says Russian political scientist Fyodor Krasheninnikov, citing the crackdown on independent media and NGOs that has forced many to close or flee.

Attacking LGBT communities serves as a useful point of contrast with enemies abroad that serves to rally the regime’s supporters, he believes.

“Putin likes to say that normal families are one father, one mother and children, and other variants are not normal,” says Mr Krasheninnikov. “The propaganda says that Western civilisation is LGBT civilisation – an insane, satanic civilisation – but we are pure people with pure values.”

The political scientist suggests that oppression is likely to intensify in Russian society as the regime moves to pre-empt any threats. He cites a recent speech by President Putin to security services, in which he demanded stronger action against “traitors, spies, and saboteurs”.

“Putin is making a new machine of terror like in the time of Stalin,” says Mr Krasheninnikov. “It will be no problem to arrest 100 or 1,000 people a day.”