A Moscow book fair has prompted accusations of censorship after it canceled an appearance by a debut author who is a top aide to jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s longtime spokeswoman and a prominent activist in her own right, was set to present her novel Incredible Incidents In Women’s Cell No. 3 at the Non/Fiction book festival, which will be held at an exhibition space near the Kremlin from March 24 to 28.
But the book’s publisher, Corpus, revealed that its parent company had given in to pressure by the event’s organizers to withdraw Yarmysh’s appearance from the event.
The controversial decision comes at a tense time for Russia’s opposition, and specifically Navalny and his regional network of campaign offices. The anti-corruption crusader incited a nationwide wave of protests in January that was brutally suppressed by police, and on February 2 he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison over a parole violation charge he contends is absurd.
Last week, Navalny’s award nomination for a series of investigative documentaries revealing evidence of corruption among the country’s top officials prompted a bitter conflict in Russia’s filmmaking community and led the Russian Guild of Film Critics to drop its prestigious cinema prize.
Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-yarmysh-book-fair-censorship/31165954.html