Pavel Ivanov spent years helping publish LGBTQ-themed books in Russia. In court, he called himself a lifelong hunter of ‘perverts’ and walked away with a suspended sentence.
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In May 2025, three employees of Popcorn Books — a publisher of young adult fiction — were detained in Moscow.
They were charged in connection with the distribution of LGBT literature — specifically, the publication of the novel “Leto v pionerskom galstuke” (“Summer in a Pioneer Tie”) by Yelena Malisova and Katerina Silvanova.
The defendants spent nearly a year under house arrest before it was eased to a restriction on certain activities.
In June 2026, one of the three — former sales director Pavel Ivanov — went to trial.
He had cut a deal with investigators and testified against others named in what became known as the “book publishers’ case.” During closing arguments, Ivanov said he had fought this his whole life, going back to Soviet times, when he caught “perverts” as part of a Komsomol patrol.
The trial concluded in a single day, and Ivanov received a suspended sentence.
Mediazona journalists attended the proceedings and reported on what Ivanov said there. ...