Writing and publishing books in Russia is a high-risk business — publishers, above all, put their own freedom on the line. Caught between censorship and readers’ expectations, they face new fines, bans, and criminal charges almost every month. After the arrest in May 2025 of three staff members from the publishing houses Individuum and Popcorn Books, the Russian authorities did not ease their assault on the industry — but this still-ongoing trial stands out as one of the most absurd: prosecutors claim the publishers face eight to twelve years in prison on charges of extremism for allegedly selling books with gay characters.

How extreme is this case — or are there others like it? How is the Russian state tightening censorship, and what does Chinese AI have to do with it? With whom can Western publishers cooperate under such conditions? Is there a new samizdat? And what does international professional solidarity look like in the midst of the Kremlin's war and Western sanctions?

These and other questions will be discussed by:

Felix Sandalov, director of the Berlin-based anti-censorship foundation StraightForward, former editor-in-chief of Individuum, and writer

Elena Malisova, co-author of the much-discussed novel Summer in the Pioneer Tie, translated into German (as "Du und ich und der Sommer"), English, and other languages, which has become a flashpoint for the Kremlin’s campaign to impose “traditional values”

Moderator: Dr. Volker Weichsel, editor of the monthly journal Osteuropa and translator