Russian online platforms and schools face expanding censorship regulations
Russian streaming service Amediateka censored over 75 hours of foreign series, while courts banned novels and schools introduced new patriotic curriculum materials.
An investigation by Mediazona, reported on by The Insider, revealed that Russian streaming service Amediateka removed over 75 hours of footage across roughly 200 foreign television series to comply with censorship laws. Editors excised more than 7,300 scenes depicting forbidden topics such as LGBT themes, drug use, suicide, and incest, occasionally obscuring key narrative lines in popular shows.
In a related development, independent news outlet Verstka reported that a Russian court officially banned the hockey romance novel Heated Rivalry under laws prohibiting non-traditional sexual relationships.
Concurrently, NEXTA highlighted new educational materials distributed to schools in Novosibirsk. The curriculum frames military sacrifice as a solemn civic duty while criticizing Western values and non-traditional relationships.
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 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 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
- Oct 23, 2026, 11:00 AM UTCRussian media and schools alter content amid strict censorship laws
- Oct 23, 2026, 01:00 AM UTCRussian streaming platforms, courts, and schools enforce strict state censorship rules