The censor’s office
Glavlit, created in 1922, approved everything printed in the Soviet Union.[1] It also helped purge libraries and shops, and lists of books to withdraw were issued, so a title could be .[1][2] Glavlit was abolished in 1991.[5]
Withdrawn books were not always destroyed. Many went into the spetskhran, the special storage sections of major libraries, open only to readers with permission.[2][3]
From the card catalogue
Examples of how books and reference works were controlled. More cards will be added as the archive grows.
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Spetskhran
Restricted collections
Foreign press, émigré writing and works by purged authors, held apart from the open shelves.[3]
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Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1953
The replacement pages
After Beria’s arrest in 1953, subscribers to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia received a page to replace his entry.[4]
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Samizdat
Self-published copies
Banned texts retyped by hand with carbon paper and passed reader to reader.[5]
Sources
- “Glavlit.” Encyclopedia of Russian History, via Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com
- “Glavlit Censorship: Banned in the Soviet Union.” Die Kasseler Liste. www.kasselerliste.com
- “Spetskhran.” Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
- “Censorship in the Soviet Union.” Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
- “Books banned in Soviet Union.” Banned-Books.org. www.banned-books.org