Rave at Russian State Library in Moscow draws criticism from pro-war commentators
A literary rave called "LitRAVE" took place at the Russian State Library in Moscow overnight into November 1, with about 3,000 attendees. Pro-war bloggers and pro-government activists criticized the event.
The Russian State Library in Moscow, also known as the Leninka, hosted an event called "LitRAVE" overnight from October 31 to November 1. The publishing group Eksmo-AST co-organized it with the library. According to the publisher, about 3,000 people gathered in the reading rooms, which held three dance floors playing techno, electronic pop and ambient music. The event drew criticism from pro-war bloggers and pro-government activists.
The program
The news outlet Sota reported that pro-war poet Anna Revyakina opened the event. Besides music and poetry, the program included performance art, light installations and an exhibition of literary memes.
The criticism
Critics compared the event to "Satan's ball." Yekaterina Mizulina, who heads the Safe Internet League and is known for reporting people to the authorities, noted that the library holds books dating back to the 15th century, including works printed by Johannes Gutenberg, Ivan Fyodorov and Schweipolt Fiol. She suggested books could have been taken while everyone was distracted and asked what the Culture Ministry thought. In fact, the library does not keep books in its reading rooms; readers receive them on request.
Andrey Medvedev, a presenter for the state broadcaster VGTRK, wrote that a library is no place for a rave. War correspondent and Solovyov.Live host Sergey Karnaukhov called for the library's entire management to be fired.
The organizers respond
The library told the outlet Podyom that it was seeing incredible hype around the event but knew exactly what it was doing, saying the goal was to attract young readers. Eksmo-AST said it wanted to compete with 21st-century entertainment, including TikTok, and to show that reading is fashionable and relevant. The organizers said they had thought through all safety measures and that the library suffered no damage. According to the publisher, all 3,000 attendees signed up for library cards.
