Aula
9. 9. 2025
keynote
16:30
Тишина в библиотеке: как государственная цензура запрещает книги и заставляет читателей молчать
Silence in the Library: How State Censorship Bans Books and Muzzles Readers
The report is based on the personal story of a librarian from Moscow, Vladimir Kosarevskiy, who for many years headed the SMART Library named after Anna Akhmatova — one of the first modern new-type libraries in Russia, focused on innovative technologies and freedom of choice for the reader.
After 2022, libraries in the country began to rapidly transform from spaces of free access to information into instruments of ideological control.
The author talks about censorship in the library system, the destruction of literature, the inclusion of books in „blacklists,“ and direct pressure on staff. Special attention is given to the practice of removing books with LGBTQ themes and works by authors recognized as „foreign agents,“ as well as the criminal prosecution of publishing houses.
The report raises such questions as: can libraries remain neutral and free under an authoritarian regime? And what responsibility do librarians bear in an era of repression?
Vladimir Kosarevskiy is a library specialist, cultural project curator, and blogger.
He worked in the Moscow library system for more than 14 years. From 2015 to 2023, he headed the SMART Library named after Anna Akhmatova — one of the first new-type libraries in Russia, where modern technologies, free access to information, and cultural diversity were combined. The library became a landmark for the urban community, a platform for open discussions, educational programs, and creative initiatives.
After the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he resisted censorship in the library field, as a result of which he was forced to leave Russia and request international protection in Spain.
He currently lives in Galicia, where he is developing his media project — Galician Stories.
