LGBT Propaganda Case Dropped by Russian Court

Russia Backs Down? St. Petersburg Court Tosses LGBT Propaganda Case Against Bookstore

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS — LGBT Politics Europe

MOSCOW — (July 11, 2025) — A court in St. Petersburg has officially dropped an “LGBT propaganda” case against the iconic bookstore Podpisniye Izdaniya, ending a months-long legal clash that drew international attention. The bookstore was previously fined for selling LGBTQ+ and feminist literature authored by cultural luminaries like Susan Sontag and Olivia Laing.

Related Coverage Links on JRL CHARTS:

The ruling marks a surprising reversal in a country where government censorship of LGBTQ+ themes has intensified dramatically since the expansion of Russia’s controversial “LGBT propaganda” law in 2022.

April Raid Sparked Backlash, Fine Followed

In April 2025, law enforcement raided the nearly 100-year-old bookstore, ordering staff to pull dozens of titles from its shelves. The targeted books touched on gender, sexuality, and civil rights—many written by authors labeled as dissidents or foreign agents.

The following month, the Kuibyshevsky District Court ordered Podpisniye Izdaniya to pay a fine of 800,000 rubles (approximately $10,000), citing the sale of 37 books determined to contain so-called “non-traditional” content.

One such book was Olivia Laing’s Everybody: A Book About Freedom, which was cited as promoting “gender reassignment” and “refusal to procreate” in a state-sponsored analysis by Herzen University.

Case Dropped on Technicality — For Now

However, in a surprising twist, the court announced this week that the case had been terminated due to a statute of limitations issue. The violation occurred on April 10, 2024, and was deemed ineligible for prosecution based on procedural timelines.

It remains unclear if prosecutors intend to challenge the ruling.

Bookstores Still Self-Censor Under Propaganda Law

Russia’s original “LGBT propaganda” legislation was introduced in 2013 and was vastly expanded in 2022 to ban all public depictions of same-sex relationships and “non-traditional lifestyles” across books, film, TV, and digital media¹.

Following the law’s expansion, major bookstore chains across Russia engaged in mass preemptive censorship, pulling LGBTQ+-themed titles to avoid government fines or criminal liability².

A Rare Legal Victory in a Repressive Climate

While the dismissal of this case may appear procedural, LGBTQ+ advocates see it as a rare legal win in an otherwise hostile environment. Podpisniye Izdaniya remains one of the few Russian retailers willing to carry LGBTQ+ literature, even under threat of fines and surveillance.

Stay with JRL CHARTS for real-time coverage of global LGBTQ+ rights, media censorship, and legal battles affecting our community across Europe and beyond.