Paper short abstract:

On Russian-language Ficbook.net, communities appear surrounding fandoms just like on other sites. However, after Roskamnadzor's targeting of Ficbook, the creation and maintenance of community surrounding Putin-favourite literature poses new possibilities for community building and resilience online.

Paper long abstract:

Among the sources used to create fanfiction are “classic” novels, particularly the Russian literary canon. These authors and their works are consistently celebrated by Putin for their “Russian spirit” and ability to guide the readers-students towards particular values such as nationalism, humanism, and morality (Romanenko 2020, p. 28, Sarsenov 2010, p. 503). The use of these classic works as source material for fanfiction shows a creative impulse which I plan to bring into conversation with education, queer identity, societal biases, and the legacy of canon.

Considering the very visible exploration of non-traditional sexuality and gender on fanfiction sites, there is tension between the function of fanfiction as self-exploration and the values the Russian Federation insists are in classical literature. On 9 July 2024, Roskomnadzor, the Russian Federal Government’s supervision of media, blocked Ficbook in Russia due to its slash and femslash content – or content about homosexual relationships. In response, on 4 October 2024 Ficbook announced they would sue Roskomnadzor and told Russian users to download a VPN (Ficbook 2024). Roskomnadzor’s attack indicates the visibility of fanfiction depicting non-traditional sexuality to the Russian government and how online spaces are currently battling for creative and personal freedom. My attention to slash and femslash fanfiction on Ficbook.net will reveal how Russian citizens use the literary canon to oppose Putin’s values, instead seeking new or reopening obscured interpretations of these works within communities that are now in defiance of the government in accessing Ficbook.net.