Russia's Digital Development Ministry is exploring ways to legally legitimize books by 'undesirable' organizations and 'foreign agents' that were published before the government designated them as such. The initiative is being discussed with the Justice Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and the presidential administration, Vladimir Grigoriev, the ministry's director of state support for periodicals and the book industry, told Kommersant.
Grigoriev cited the Open Society Foundations (Soros Foundation) and the World Wide Fund for Nature, both recognized as 'undesirable' in Russia, noting that in the 1990s these organizations financed the publication of Russian classics and local history literature. Yale University, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University, which publish textbooks on physics, astronomy, and mathematics, are also on the 'undesirable' list. Under a literal reading of current law, such publications would have to be banned and confiscated, the official said, so the ministry is advocating for a discussion of enforcement practices or legislative changes.
In the ministry's 2025 year-end report, it was noted that if the laws on 'foreign agents' and 'undesirable' organizations were applied literally, municipal libraries would have to remove 50–70% of their collections from public access, while scientific libraries would lose 10–15%. A Kommersant source in the Russian Book Union said libraries are forced to remove even publications where a 'foreign agent' or 'undesirable' organization played a 'secondary role'—as translator, illustrator, or foreword author.
The Justice Ministry confirmed its participation in the discussions. A source in the presidential administration told Kommersant that the initiative is at the stage of interagency talks and 'no ready-made solution exists yet.'