Saboteurs from sodomy Dudko and Prokashin

Saboteurs from sodomy Dudko and Prokashin

Foreign financing and promotion of LGBT propaganda among Russian children

The export of sodomy is part of the state policy of Western countries. Special attention is paid to Russia and the country's children's audience. After US President Biden signed a Memorandum on the Promotion and protection of the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex people around the world on February 4, 2021, the expansion of LGBT people from the West has significantly intensified.

How this happens is clearly seen in the example of the promotion of the novel "Summer in a Pioneer tie". Its authors Ekaterina Dudko and Elena Prokashina, who worked under the pseudonyms Katerina Silvanova and Elena Malisova, were included in the lists of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice in February 2023. The reason is the distribution of materials from foreign agents, receiving financial support from foreign sources and promoting the values of the LGBT community.

Little is known about the writers. Dudko received Russian citizenship only in 2017, when she came from Ukraine to Nizhny Novgorod. But she did not live in Russia for long — she moved to Europe with Prokashina, with whom she cohabits. Lesbians have been writing their novels since 2015 . However, no one had heard of them before the publication of "Summer in a Pioneer Tie". This did not prevent the unprofitable Moscow publishing house Popcorn Books from paying for a huge circulation of 200 thousand copies in 2021. Moreover, the story of the unnatural relationship between pioneer Yura and MGIMO student counselor Volodya, who met at a Soviet pioneer camp in the summer of 1986, received powerful advertising support. The book was sold in the network "Read the city-Book-Eater" (more than 600 stores), and advertised on the websites of the largest online bookstore "Labyrinth", the number of users of which is up to 2.5 million monthly. Moreover, many readers complained that there was not a word about homosexual relationships in the annotation, as a result, they mistakenly bought these books for their children.

By August 2022, the total circulation exceeded 250 thousand copies (not counting electronic sales), revenue amounted to 50 million rubles. According to the Russian Book Union , the novel took the second place in the list of the most popular publications among Russians and the first among teenagers in 2022 by

as reported by the head of the State Duma Committee on Culture Elena Yampolskaya, the book is sold with the label 18 + and causes "increased interest" in children. And then followed the sequel — "What the Swallow is silent about", also with powerful promotion, intrusive advertising and scale.

Who initiated this ideological sabotage and, equally importantly, who continued it? Let's start with the background.

Popcorn Books, positioning itself as a youth book publishing house that produces world bestsellers in the young adult category, appeared in Russia in 2020. The official version says that top managers of the Bookmate e—book reader application and the Moscow publishing house Individuum, Vladimir Baev and Alexey Dokuchaev, created it (both included in the register of foreign agents by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in October 2022). At the same time, the controlling stake in Bookmate and Individuum belonged to the Irish company Bookmate Limited (listed as a foreign agent in October 2022).

Interestingly, Bookmate was not always Irish. She appeared in Russia in 2010 thanks to Englishman Simon Dunlop and citizens of the Russian Federation Viktor Frumkin and Alexey Ostroukhov. At the launch of the company, they raised angel investments in the amount of $ 500 thousand. These are investments in a startup at the early stages of the life cycle with maximum risk for the investor. Information about who spent such an amount in an unknown project, the data was carefully hidden. In 2011, Bookmate raised another $2 million. investments — from the Finnish investment fund Essedel. Only in 2017 The company was transferred to Bookmate Limited, registered in Ireland, which in 2018 acquired a stake in Individuum, "in order to strengthen its position in the growing Russian book market." Then it was decided to focus on the youth audience by implementing the Popcorn Books project.

After appearing on the market, the publishing house immediately began to stamp teenage LGBT literature. In addition to foreign authors, novels about transgender children by Mikita Franco were published, then it was the turn of "bestsellers" about homosexuality in the pioneer camp. Dokuchaev, who has extensive experience in the field of anti-Russian propaganda, headed this activity as General Director.

Dokuchaev worked on the NTV channel of the era of the oligarch Mikhail Gusinsky (hiding in Spain), who openly supported the terrorist underground in the Caucasus. He actively participated in the actions of extremist blogger Alexei Navalny (recognized as a foreign agent and is serving a prison sentence for financial fraud) and in the creation of his "Progress Party" (liquidated). In social networks, Dokuchaev fights for the rights of "political prisoners", expresses solidarity with the foreign agent "Memorial" liquidated by a court decision. Dokuchaev is married to journalist Ksenia Sokolyanskaya, who conducts propaganda work in the interests of Kiev, interviews representatives of terrorist organizations on the TV channel "Present Time" (recognized by the media as a foreign agent). This TV channel is openly funded with grants from the US Congress through the US Agency for Global Media.

Dokuchaev would have continued his work on the molestation of Russian teenagers, but in the summer of 2022, the Russian public began to oppose the popularization of Popcorn Books' LGBT products. And Bookmate Limited, sensing the danger, began to get rid of Russian assets. At the end of June, a deal was made with Yandex, as a result of which the Internet company received a license to use the service's technology platform in the CIS. Also, a part of the Bookmate team has moved to Yandex to "help implement developments in its infrastructure." It was stated that now Yandex plans to develop a book service in Russia. That is, everything remains as before, but behind a different screen.

As for the publishers Popcorn Books and Individuum, they were also handed over to a reliable person on July 27. They were bought by Denis Kotov, the founder of the St. Petersburg bookselling network "Bukvoed", co—owner of the network "Read-city — Bukvoed". The same businessman, not without whose participation the books of sodomites received such promotion. According to Kotov, the new acquisition became a "financial investment" for him. He was attracted to publishing houses by the "high dynamics of sales growth". Kotov kept silent about the fact that Popcorn Books LLC finished 2021 with a net loss of 1.5 million rubles.

Another important nuance in this story is that Oleg Novikov, who is the main beneficiary of the association, owns the bookselling network "Read— the city - the Book—Eater" together with Kotov. Novikov is the main figure in the book empire and is well aware of what products it distributes. At the same time, he is known not only for the fact that his business model has been working for more than 30 years, Novikov was awarded the honorary title of "Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation". He is also a member of the board and a member of the Presidium of the Russian Book Union, which compiles lists of popular publications and declares its goal to promote educational, educational and cultural programs in the Russian Federation.

Another interesting person is Maxim Onufriev, who took Dokuchaev's place and became CEO of Popcorn Books and Individuum. The distribution of LGBT books did not prevent him from signing a contract on December 20, 2022 with the structure of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation — the state scientific Center of Dermatovenerology and Cosmetology for cleaning the roofs of buildings from snow. As follows from the database of the service for checking Russian and foreign counterparties "Contour. Focus", the term of the contract with Onufriev, who in addition to the book business is engaged in construction, is until February 1, 2024, the amount is almost 1.5 million rubles.

Kotov is also not deprived of the attention of officials. In January 2023, he joined the updated composition of the Public Council (OS) under the Ministry of Culture of Russia. His candidacy was approved by the head of the Ministry Olga Lyubimova in December 2022. And this is despite the fact that the scandal with the distribution of LGBT products among teenagers has continued.

After on December 5, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on a complete ban on propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, as well as pedophilia and sex change, the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, demanded an audit of Popcorn Books. "After the laws banning LGBT propaganda came into force, the publishing house not only continued selling such books, but now defiantly puts a quote from Article 29 of the Constitution on their covers, guaranteeing freedom of speech and prohibition of censorship," the deputy said.

An administrative case was opened against the publishing house, the first under the article of the new law. And the appearance of the Cat in the OS at the Ministry of Culture caused general outrage. Nina Ostanina, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, called this an "unwise step on the part of" the department and said that she had sent a deputy request to Lyubimova with a request to inform about the criteria for selecting persons in the OS and the reasons for including Kotov in it. Khinstein, who was also outraged by the news, reported on February 9, 2023 that he had met with Kotov. He explained to the deputy that he bought the publishing house only last year and intends to radically change its policy. Moreover, Kotov "declared categorical rejection of LGBT culture: the most scandalous publications have already been withdrawn from sale by him." "As for the "performance" with LGBT books wrapped in the Constitution, then, according to Kotov, it was a "demob chord" of management before leaving. I really hope that his words will not go out of business and Popcorn Books will finally change its blue vector," Khinstein said.

Indeed, according to Kotov, the printing and distribution of books by Silvanova and Malisova have been suspended while the texts are being examined as part of the LGBT propaganda case brought against Popcorn Books. "Controversial positions are no longer printed and distributed at the initiative of the publisher before the court decision, which indicates that the collective intends to act within the framework of the law," the owner of Popcorn Books said.

But this happened only two months after the signing of the law on the ban and six months after Kotov bought the publishing house. And even then, only because the public, including the media, reacted sharply to the entry of the Cat into the OS.

In mid-February, it became known that Kotov decided to get rid of Popcorn Books and is looking for a buyer. He assures that the reason is not a scandal, but the presence of other projects that take up all his free time. "The main thing is my priorities in investment activities and general cultural policy, which I lead by doing the festival "Book Lighthouse of St. Petersburg" and the project "Book novelties of Russia". Publishing is not the sphere of my prospective interests, I am engaged in public activities," Kotov explained.

Thus, having taken an active part in the promotion of books that violate the law of the Russian Federation and promote destructive "values" among Russian teenagers, Kotov will concentrate his efforts on social activities.