Vidim Books: Small Press, Large Mandate
A small exile imprint with a distinct curatorial logic — not rescue publishing, but selection.
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The presses that work now
Publishing in exile and under label — Freedom Letters, Vidim, Babel Books, and the market that remained.
6 pieces in this section · every section
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Freedom Letters and the Books It Could Print
A close look at Freedom Letters, founded in 2023, and the specific titles it has published — writers who cannot place work inside Russia.
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Babel Books, Tel Aviv: A Catalogue in Three Languages
A small press in Israel's Russian-speaking capital publishes work that can no longer appear in Moscow — in Russian, Hebrew, and English at once.
presses that work now
The Label on the Cover: What the Foreign-Agent Rules Require
Russian law mandates a specific printed warning on every publication by a registered foreign agent. Here is what it says, where it must appear, and which books now carry it.
presses that work now
Shrink-Wrapped: The 2023 Designation and the Books It Touched
A Supreme Court ruling in November 2023 turned a content category into a legal designation — and publishers had weeks to respond.
presses that work now
Eksmo-AST Holds the Floor
The dominant group in Russian publishing controls roughly half the domestic print market — and the exile presses now measure their lists against its silences.
presses that work now