PEN America is collecting messages of encouragement and hope to be delivered to writers currently imprisoned around the world for standing up for their own beliefs. People are encouraged to go to PEN American’s website and write letters of solidarity…
Tag: russia
Russia Raids Movie Theater Showing Historical Farce
Last week Russian Ministry of Culture officials revoked the distribution license for Armando Iannucci’s satire, The Death of Stalin, based on the Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin’s graphic novel of the same name. When the Pioneer cinema in Moscow proceeded…
Moscow Librarian Receives Four-Year Suspended Sentence for ‘Extremist’ Literature
Natalya Sharina, the former director of Moscow’s Library of Ukrainian Literature who has been under house arrest since her home and library were raided by police in October 2015, has been convicted of “inciting hatred against Russians” and given a…
Russian Prosecutors Seek Suspended Sentence for Library Director
Russian prosecutors are seeking a 5-year suspended sentence for Natalya Sharina, the former director of Moscow’s Ukrainian Literature Library who stands accused of embezzlement and “inciting racial hatred.” Russian law prohibits the “‘mass dissemination’ of materials that the government designates ‘extremist’” and the country…
Bare Shelves at Moscow Library of Ukrainian Literature
Over a year after the former director of Moscow’s Library of Ukrainian Literature was arrested and charged with “inciting ethnic hatred” through books, the city government appears to be quietly shutting down the library with a specious “merger” into a…
Overwatch Digital Comic Banned in Russia for “Gay Propaganda”
Despite Challenges, Russian Indie Comics Scene Continues to Grow
Around the world, comics have been embraced as literature and a medium for free speech. Russia is no exception. In a recent editorial piece on Vice News, Thomas Carey Frazier shares his experiences visiting the country’s Astro Con and the…