Russian online platform Amediateka censors foreign series under strict state laws
Russian streaming service Amediateka cut over 75 hours of content from foreign series under censorship laws, as courts ban books and schools roll out patriotic textbooks.
Russian streaming platform Amediateka has censored nearly half of its foreign television series to comply with strict domestic laws, according to an investigation by Mediazona. Over 75 hours of footage comprising more than 7,300 individual fragments were removed from approximately 200 shows. Censored content includes references to non-traditional sexual relationships, substance abuse, suicide, and incest, with some edits altering major plotlines in popular productions.
Separately, a Russian court banned the romance novel Heated Rivalry, ruling that its depiction of a romance between two male ice hockey players violated prohibitions against non-traditional sexual relationships.
Concurrently, educational institutions in regions such as Novosibirsk have introduced supplementary textbooks emphasizing state-approved ideology. The materials frame military service in Ukraine as an honorable duty while contrasting Russian values with Western influences.
Sources: Mediazona, NEXTA, The Insider, Verstka.
Sources
- Verstka — Суд запретил в России книгу «Жаркое соперничество», по которой снят одноимённый сериал о любви двух хоккеистов
- NEXTA — Пропаганда в российских школах готовит учеников к смерти
- Mediazona — 75 часов цензуры
- The Insider — Почти половина зарубежных сериалов на «Амедиатеке» подверглась цензуре. Из них вырезали более 75 часов контента — «Медиазона»
Earlier coverage
- Oct 28, 2026, 03:00 AM UTCRussian censorship expands across streaming platforms, literature, and schools
- Oct 27, 2026, 11:00 PM UTCRussian streaming platforms and publishers face expanding content censorship
- Oct 27, 2026, 05:00 PM UTCRussian streaming services, literature, and schools face expanding state censorship
- Oct 27, 2026, 11:00 AM UTCRussian online platforms and schools face expanding censorship regulations
- Oct 26, 2026, 05:00 PM UTCRussian censors alter streaming series and ban books under expanded restrictions
- Oct 26, 2026, 11:00 AM UTCRussian streaming service cuts 75 hours of content amid state censorship
- Oct 24, 2026, 10:30 PM UTCRussian censorship tightens across streaming, publishing, and schools
- Oct 23, 2026, 11:00 PM UTCRussia deepens content censorship across streaming media, literature, and schools
- Oct 23, 2026, 07:00 PM UTCRussian media, courts, and schools step up censorship and state messaging
- Oct 23, 2026, 05:00 PM UTCRussian platforms, courts, and schools increase censorship and patriotic messaging