In Kazan, the court fined the legal entity of the bookstore "Chitai-Gorod" 800,000 rubles in a case of "LGBT propaganda" due to the books of Fredrik Backman.

      This was reported by the publication KazanFirst. The Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan fined the chain bookstore "Chitai-Gorod" 800,000 rubles under the article on "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" (Article 6.21 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation). KazanFirst reported this. According to sources from the publication, books by Swedish author Fredrik Backman were sold in one of the bookstores in Kazan. The specific work in question has not been disclosed. KazanFirst only writes that the work discussed "non-traditional sexual relations among young hockey players." Previously, in other regions of Russia, a bookstore was held accountable under Article 6.21 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation due to Backman's books "Bear Town" and "Us Against You." The action of the book "Bear Town" takes place in the Swedish town of Bjornstad. The plot centers around a rape committed by one of the leading players of the junior hockey team. "Us Against You" is a sequel to the book "Bear Town." It tells the story of a small town in Sweden, whose residents' hopes are tied to the local hockey team. Tragic events on the eve of an important game divide the town's population into two camps. On the website of the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan, "Idel.Realii" discovered an administrative case under part 1 of Article 6.21 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation against LLC "New Book M" — one of the legal entities of "Chitai-Gorod." Two court hearings have taken place in the case, and the decision was announced on March 4. The ruling has not yet been published on the court's website. It was only stated that a "ruling on the imposition of an administrative penalty was issued." At the end of January, the press service of "Chitai-Gorod — Bukvoed" confirmed to "Mediazona" that administrative cases had been initiated against their structures in several regions of Russia for selling five novels, including "Bear Town" and "Us Against You." The general director of "Chitai-Gorod," Alexander Brychkin, told "Mediazona" that these works by Backman are not listed in the "registers of extremist and other banned literature." According to Brychkin, the books had to be removed from sale. The general director of "Chitai-Gorod" stated that "the procedure for holding accountable <...> for the sale of books that are not officially banned by a court decision, which are published and circulated by publishers on a legal basis, is extremely contradictory." In December 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a package of laws prohibiting "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" and "propaganda of gender change and pedophilia." One of the laws prohibits "propaganda" of LGBT in any goods sold in the Russian Federation — films, books, advertisements, and audiovisual services. For violating the ban on "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations," fines range from 50,000 to 400,000 rubles for individuals, from 100,000 to 800,000 for officials, and from 800,000 to 5 million or suspension of activities for up to 90 days for legal entities. In November 2023, the Supreme Court of Russia recognized the non-existent "international public movement LGBT" as an "extremist organization" and banned its activities on the territory of Russia. Subscribe to our channel on Telegram.