Russian libraries remove Alexander Pelevin’s ‘Pokrov-17’ over Galina Yuzefovich quote after her foreign agent designation

Libraries in Moscow and the Arkhangelsk and Leningrad regions have moved Alexander Pelevin’s novel “Pokrov-17” off open shelves after literary critic Galina Yuzefovich was designated a “foreign agent” by Russia’s Justice Ministry. The book remains available on request, but the decision shows how that designation can affect access to works that include a designated person’s words.

The 2021 edition, published by Gorodets, carries a Yuzefovich quote from a 2019 review of a different Pelevin novel. A Moscow library employee said staff check several official lists weekly, including the foreign agents register, while a St Petersburg library said it does not conduct such checks; practices vary between libraries.