A court in makhachkala has fined a bookshop chain ₽800,000 ($8,600) for selling books deemed to contain ‘LGBT propaganda’. The Chitai-Gorod bookshop, located in the Etazhi (‘Floors’) shopping centre of makhachkala, received the penalty on March 16th, according to Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet. The legal action targeted books including Ursula K.
Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and Fredrik Backman’s Beartown and Us Against You. A customer, A.M. Kadieva, reported the books to authorities, citing “signs of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.” Expert assessments from Transbaikal State University, led by Professor Artem Zhukov, supported this claim, concluding the works contained “signs of ideas associated with the promotion of homosexuality.” Other experts, including Lyudmila Kamedina and Nadezhda Antsiferova, identified themes of acceptance of non-binary relationships and criticism of traditional values.
The court accepted these expert opinions as valid evidence, stating the dissemination of such information could foster “non-traditional sexual attitudes” and distort perceptions of relationships. The company, OOO Novy Knizhny M, did not attend the hearing. The judge imposed the minimum sanction of ₽800,000, citing “voluntary cessation of the unlawful conduct.” The ruling referenced the Russian constitution and family code, emphasizing the state’s protection of the traditional family unit.
This case follows similar actions against Chitai-Gorod in Chita and Izhevsk, with at least seven administrative protocols drawn up concerning Backman and Le Guin’s works. A law enacted in December 2022 prohibits the display of LGBT content to minors, carrying fines of up to ₽400,000 for individuals and ₽5,000,000 for legal entities. The court decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Daghestan within 10 days.
Topics: #makhachkala #fined #bookshop
A court in Makhachkala has imposed a fine of ₽800,000 ($8,600) on the Chitai-Gorod bookshop chain for stocking books considered to promote ‘LGBT propaganda’. The store, situated in the Etazhi (‘Floors