Police in Moscow have confiscated 3,500 copies of a book written by a Anna Sokolova (shown at left, she's on Twitter), investigative reporter with Forbes Russia, about links between regional authorities and corruption. From the Moscow Times:
The confiscation took place after Deputy Governor Igor Parkhomenko filed a libel complaint with the local police over the book, titled, "Corporation 'Moscow Region': How Russia's Richest Region Was Bankrupted."
The book had a total print run of 5,000. On his Facebook page, editorial director Leonid Bershidsky at Eksmo, the book's publisher, says the other 1,500 copies of the book had already been shipped to bookstores, but…
The confiscated books were not delivered to stores after an obscure company asked Eksmo to hold off on the shipments because it wanted to purchase them all, he said. The request came two days before the confiscation, but the company, Konsard, never picked the order.
Read the rest of the Moscow Times article here. Forbes Russia has an item up today about the police action here.
has released a sample chapter here, in Russian.
Journalists in Russia whose work runs afoul of authorities and/or crime syndicates are frequently the target of intimidation, violent attacks, disappearance, and murder. Sokolova and those close to her are now understandably concerned for her safety.
(via Joseph Menn)
