Russian streaming services, publishers, and schools face expanding ideological controls

Russian online streaming service Amediateka has censored nearly half of its foreign television series to comply with domestic laws, according to an investigation by independent media outlet Mediazona. Censorship teams excised over 7,300 scenes totaling more than 75 hours of footage across roughly 200 shows. Removals targeted content involving non-traditional sexual relations, substance use, suicide, and incest, in some cases eliminating central plotlines from series like Game of Thrones.

The media cuts reflect broader state efforts targeting Western cultural influences. A Russian court recently banned the romance novel Heated Rivalry for promoting non-traditional sexual relations. Additionally, secondary schools in Novosibirsk received new educational materials framing the military campaign in Ukraine as honorable, attacking Western values, and explicitly equating homosexuality with criminal behavior.

Sources: Mediazona, NEXTA, The Insider, Verstka.