Reacting to the initiation of an unfounded criminal case against renowned Russian writer Grigori Chkhartishvili, best known under his pen name Boris Akunin, accusing him of “disseminating false information about the Russian Armed Forces” and “justifying terrorism”, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“The Russian authorities’ ongoing persecution of Boris Akunin and this unfounded criminal case exemplifies their sheer vindictiveness against anyone who dares to express dissent. In a matter of days, his books were withdrawn from sale, a play based on his work was removed from a theatre, and the police raided the only publishing house that continued to collaborate with him.”
“All this is in reprisal for Boris Akunin’s vocal opposition to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and he is not the only victim of such campaigns. Many others, including artists, performers, musicians, and filmmakers have found themselves persecuted and isolated from Russian cultural life simply due to their opposition to the war.
Many others, including artists, performers, musicians, and filmmakers have found themselves persecuted and isolated from Russian cultural life simply due to their opposition to the war
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
“These shameful charges must be dropped immediately and the campaign to denigrate and persecute cultural figures who oppose the war must be stopped.”
Background
On 18 December, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced the initiation of a criminal case against Boris Akunin, who has been residing outside of Russia since 2014, on charges of “justifying terrorism” (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) and “disseminating knowingly false information about the Armed Forces” (Article 207.3). A day earlier, Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial regulator, included Boris Akunin on the list of “terrorists and extremists.”
Following the announcement of the charges, Moscow’s largest bookstores began removing Boris Akunin’s books from shelves, while major online stores like Wildberries and Litres e-bookstore almost completely removed his works from their platforms. The Moscow Gubernsky Theatre has ceased performing Akunin’s “The Adventures of Fandorin,” a play based on his series of adventure novels.
On 19 December, law enforcement agents raided the Zakharov publishing house, which possesses publishing rights to many of Boris Akunin’s books, confiscating all editions held at the premises. Irina Bogat, the publishing house’s director, said that “Obviously, this is due to the fact that we are the only ones who did not withdraw Akunin’s books from sale.”