Russia bans webpages hosting Heated Rivalry book over alleged ’LGBT propaganda’

A Moscow court has banned three webpages hosting the text of Heated Rivalry, the novel by Canadian author Rachel Reid that was adapted into the television series of the same name about a romance between two hockey players, independent outlet Verstka reported, citing a ruling on the court’s online database.

The ban was issued by Moscow’s Cheryomushky District Court at the request of prosecutors, who said an inspection had uncovered “literature containing propaganda of the extremist ideology ‘LGBT’”. The ruling does not specify what exactly constituted “propaganda”. The judge stated that the pages in question contained “images promoting non-traditional sexual relations” — though the only image on the banned pages is the book’s cover, which shows two hockey players facing off for a puck drop.

The pages targeted by the ruling were hosted on the piracy sites BookPlaneta, Siteknig and Libsafe. The first two had previously carried the full text of Heated Rivalry; both now display notices stating the book was blocked at the copyright holder’s request. The page on Libsafe appears to have been removed entirely.

No official announcement has been made banning either the book or the television series itself. A pirated version of the show remains available on the Russian social media platform VK.