The book by Russian opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, "Queue for Hope: An Autobiography with an Open Ending," has disappeared from the websites of LitRes, Chitai-Gorod, book24, and Yandex Books, as well as from the marketplaces Ozon and Wildberries, the outlet Verstka reported.
When users search for the book, they receive a "page not found" message. LitRes's press service told journalists that the book was removed from sale at the decision of the publishing house that holds the rights. That publisher is Eksmo: the book's page remains on its website, but it cannot be purchased.
Nadezhdin himself noticed on July 20 that his autobiography had disappeared from Wildberries, while on Ozon the price had increased tenfold from the original 500–700 rubles. The politician joked that he could have become rich, but foreign agents are forbidden from receiving royalties.
Currently, Verstka found the book for sale only on Yandex Market for 5,500 rubles. Radio Liberty checked before publication: the price on Yandex Market had risen again, to 5,716 rubles.
Nadezhdin, who has criticized the policies of the Russian authorities, attempted to register as a candidate for the September State Duma elections. The Justice Ministry added him to the register of "foreign agents" on July 10, and on July 17 a court in the Moscow region fined the politician 1,000 rubles in an administrative case over the display of extremist symbols, due to a link to a video that showed a photograph of Alexei Navalny. After that, Nadezhdin announced he was ending his election campaign.
On July 3, Nadezhdin said he had left Russia. Today, August 4, a protocol was drawn up against him regarding ties to an organization deemed undesirable in Russia, due to an interview with the outlet Meduza.