Major Lithuanian bookstores have removed Russian language books from sale. The Russian book will not be presented at the traditional Vilnius Book Fair either. According to historian Grigorijus Potašenko, this raises questions about the rights of local Russians.
A Vilnius resident Olga (not her real name) says she likes to go for walks and stop by the bookstores in the city centre.
“I loved the bookstore in the GO9 shopping centre. There used to be a broad selection of literature in Russian,” the pensioner told LRT.lt.
However, some time ago, she noticed that all Russian literature disappeared from her favourite bookshop.
Rita Račkaitė, the director general of ALG knygynai, which manages Pegasas bookshops in Lithuania, confirmed that the bookstore chain withdrew from the sale all books published by Russian and Belarusian publishers at the end of February.
“The decision to remove books published in Russia and Belarus from our shelves came the day after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. We did this to express our civic position and solidarity with Ukraine,” Račkaitė told LRT.lt.
“We don’t want to support businesses operating in Russia and Belarus and thus indirectly support the war,” she added.
However, customers can still find Russian educational literature in Pegasas bookstores, Račkaitė said. According to her, ALG knygynai has no plans to return Russian books to its bookshops.
“Customers are sometimes interested in Russian books, but the vast majority of our customers understand and support our position,” Račkaitė said.
VAGOS prekyba, which manages the VAGA bookstore chain in Lithuania, also said Russian books published in Russia are no longer available in its shops.
“After February 24, we withdrew from sale such books, as well as other goods made in Russia, such as stationery and games,” Zita Barusevičienė, a sales manager at VAGOS prekyba, told LRT.lt.
“A few books in Russian published by Lithuanian publishing houses are still on sale,” she added.
Book fairs and libraries
The traditional Vilnius Book Fair will take place in February. In previous years, publishers from Russia also attended the fair.
“I can tell you that there will be no Russian authors among the guests. Books in the Russian language will not be presented either, but there will be a whole stand dedicated to Ukraine,” said the fair project manager Eglė Majauskienė.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian libraries have not received any instructions concerning Russian books so far.
“Each library decides for itself what its collection should include to meet the needs of its readers. If there is a need for books in Russian, the library should have such books. However, the content should not contradict the interests, principles, and policies of the Lithuanian state,” said Danguolė Abazoriuvienė, president of the Association of Municipal Public Libraries.
Rights of local Russians
The translator Marius Burokas notes that Russians in Lithuania can still buy Russian books in specialised bookstores.
“As for the general attitude towards the Russian classics, I think it’s worth putting it all aside for the time being while we’re waiting for the victory of Ukraine,” he said.
Meanwhile, historian Grigorijus Potašenko, who teaches the course “Russian Lithuanians, History, and Memory” at Vilnius University, believes there is no distinction between local and visiting Russians in Lithuania, which is worrying.
“We start with the topic of Russian names, for example, the name of the Russian Drama Theatre, and end with the ban on Russian culture. We very quickly put Russia, Russian culture, and local Russians in one basket. It’s not right,” he said.
“The problem is that we don’t know anything about the Russians of Lithuania. I think this isn’t normal. If we want to fight the aggressor, we must do it, but when we move on to specific restrictions on the cultural rights of local Russians, this raises big questions,” the historian added.
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