The Garage Museum has removed “controversial” books and almanacs from the shelves

Bookstores at the Moscow Garage Museum of Contemporary Art have removed books from Directio Libera and Moloko Plus almanacs from sale. All of them are humanitarian studies in the field of sociology, cultural studies, gender theory and modern Russian history. The museum said it made the decision due to complaints from visitors, “given the times we are in.”

The publishing house Directio Libera was told in Garage that their books had caused “several unpleasant moments with store visitors.”

Sources in the publishing industry reported publication Doxa that the almanac Moloko Plus has already had problems such as detentions of participants or disruptions of presentations, but Directio Libera has not had any previous incidents. “At the moment, it is unclear whether this is pressure on Garage or an attempt to interfere with these projects, their authors or heroes (among them, for example, there are “foreign agents”). In fact, we do not know anything except that there were threats.” , said the source.

In Directio Libera called Garage’s refusal to sell their books was a “wake-up call” and expressed hope that this case would remain an isolated incident. “Unfortunately, in modern political realities, DL cannot rely on any site. Each of our collaborations is a risk of vague prospects and no guarantee that attention to the site will not result in consequences for us. We continue to remain independent, we do not give up our beliefs , we have published and will continue to publish books,” the publishing house said.

Executive Secretary of Moloko Plus Pavel Nikulin stated publication “Caution. News” that he had never encountered such cases before. “In our entire long history, we have never removed books and almanacs from sale,” he said. “Yes, there was criticism, but this is ordinary criticism. Those who are dissatisfied with us can send all their complaints to us by mail. Why make a bookstore a nightmare? I’m sure that Garage would not have done this of its own free will. The fact that Garage’s venues are facing pressure is outrageous.”

• The countercultural almanac Moloko Plus has been published since 2015. Its authors describe it as “a hybrid of science magazine, punk zine, political pamphlet and art album.” The publishing house Directio Libera publishes literature on social sciences and journalism, mainly of the left wing.