Russia's largest publishing group fires employees who refused to censor queer literature
Eksmo-AST, Russia's largest book publishing group, fired employees who refused to comply with new censorship rules introduced following stricter laws against LGBT propaganda.
The Eksmo-AST publishing group has dismissed employees who refused to work under the censorship rules it introduced in response to Russia's new laws, with others resigning voluntarily, the group's president Oleg Novikov said in an interview on the program Vesti. Novikov stated that after the "book publishers' case," the company drew conclusions and significantly tightened its internal regulations. "Some people couldn't work [under the new rules]. We have employees who quit on their own. Others we fired ourselves because they weren't ready — or you could even say didn't want — to meet the requirements the law imposes today," Novikov explained.
In May 2025, three employees of the subsidiary Popcorn Books — sales director Pavel Ivanov, executive director Dmitry Protopopov, and warehouse and distribution manager Artyom Vakhlyaev — were detained on charges of recruiting others into an "extremist organization" and participating in its activities. The criminal case originated from the distribution of "LGBT literature," including books such as "What the Swallow Won't Say" by Elena Malisova and Katerina Silvanova, "Windows to the Courtyard" by Mikita Franko, "The King's Men" by Nora Sakavic, and "Call Me by Your Name" by André Aciman.
In spring 2026, several Eksmo executives, including CEO Yevgeny Kapyev, were detained in the same case but released after questioning. Sources reported that Protopopov, Vakhlyaev, and Ivanov had testified against senior managers. Ivanov and Vakhlyaev have already received four-year suspended sentences.
The company now evaluates books against 10 criteria, covering not only non-traditional relationships but also other prohibitions, such as the promotion of drugs. The new laws forced Eksmo-AST to vet not only new books but also titles published over the group's 20-year history. Artificial intelligence assists employees in the vetting process; the group has conducted approximately 20,000 internal assessments and sent 600 books for further expert review.
Eksmo-AST, formed by the merger of Eksmo and AST, controls an estimated 75–90% of fiction published in Russia. Its imprints include Corpus, Azbuka-Atticus, the Elena Shubina imprint, and Mann, Ivanov & Ferber.
