Books seized, concert disrupted. Authorities in Arkhangelsk crack down on culture
Security forces interrogated the editor-in-chief of an independent publishing house and seized books about anti-fascism. Meanwhile, the children's ombudsman succeeded in cancelling a concert by a well-known performer because, in her opinion, he mocks traditional values.
In Arkhangelsk, employees of the 'E' centre interrogated the editor-in-chief of the 'Black Square' publishing house, Mikhail Tsovma, for three hours, and then seized 150 books.
Tsovma himself was detained, Novaya Gazeta reports. This happened during the White Books festival.
No charges were brought against the publisher, and there were no specific complaints against his organisation either. However, the authorities were particularly interested in the book Antifascism for Everyone. Its author, Kirill Medvedev, is a member of the Russian Socialist Movement, which is included in the register of so-called "foreign agents."
Other books that were confiscated include authors like anti-fascist and human rights activist Stanislav Markelov, who was killed in 2009, the poet Lev Rubinstein, the philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed by the Nazis in 1945, and the Nobel laureate Thomas Mann.
Concert stopped
On the same day, it became known about the cancellation of a concert by pop musician Lida in Arkhangelsk. The performance was disrupted against the backdrop of a public denunciation by the regional children's rights commissioner, Elena Molchanova, reports local news-online 29.RU.
“The lyrics of [Lida] are open propaganda of vulgarity and debauchery. Young people are actively buying tickets, ensuring a well-fed and comfortable life for those who openly mock our traditional values, the importance of which, by the way, is constantly reminded by the president of our country…"
Why should such vulgar creativity be heard in the city of Archangel Michael? Let's not be indifferent, let's show an active civic position and not allow the corruption of our children, who, due to their age, still do not understand much,”
- Molchanova wrote on social media.
On the same day, the venue where the concert was supposed to take place cancelled the performance. The organisers stated that it was postponed “indefinitely”.
The Barents Observer previously reported that in Arkhangelsk, Ekaterina Filippova is being tried under the article on insulting the feelings of believers. The basis of the criminal case is a cross-shaped lamp at a birthday party for the girl. According to the investigation, the party participants “deliberately mocked the sacred objects”.
After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Arkhangelsk region became a kind of capital of repression in the North-West of Russia. People undesirable to the Russian regime were harassed on social media, forced to apologise on camera, expelled from educational institutions, and, of course, imprisoned. Part of the repressive apparatus, in addition to the security forces, were numerous informers, activists of the ultra-right movement Russian Community and even university lecturers.
