Russian dictator Vladimir Putin continues to intensify domestic repression against his own people. The latest target was the country's largest publishing house, which was raided by police last week. This is reported by The Washington Post, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the Russian government confiscated thousands of books and arrested the company's CEO for distributing what the Kremlin calls "homosexual propaganda."
Putin ... seeks to maintain support among social conservatives as the country grows increasingly weary of the war. An anti-drug law passed this spring requires warning labels on any book that mentions drug use. Fearing imprisonment for non-compliance, publishers are placing cigarette-pack-style warnings on classic works by Russian novelists such as Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, and Mikhail Bulgakov,
Putin's rating falls for the seventh week due to war and censorship - ISW25.04.26, 08:02
It is pointed out that the internet in the Russian Federation is now strictly limited, journalists are sent to modern-day GULAGs, and street musicians are imprisoned for performing songs deemed to have an anti-war message, however indirect it may be. This is why so many artists and performers have fled abroad.
This is a time-tested method of autocrats to restrict personal freedoms in the face of bad news. And for Russia, the news about the war in Ukraine is bad. Various spring and summer offensive operations have failed to significantly move the front lines,
The authors conclude that Putin claims to be protecting his country from "Western decadence," yet such steps cause more damage to Russia's cultural heritage and its economy.
As a reminder
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has effectively confirmed a course toward tightening digital control in Russia, explaining mass internet blocks as "security considerations" and a gradual transition to a strictly limited digital environment.
Peskov admitted to the existence of military censorship in Russia12.07.25, 04:44