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Russian customs authorities seized Time correspondent Simon Shuster’s bestselling biography of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at an airport in Moscow, state media reported Wednesday.
Expertise carried out at Sheremetyevo International Airport determined that Shuster’s “The Showman” is banned from crossing the customs border of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
“Information contained in [the book] may threaten national security or the political and economic interests of the country and the morality of its citizens,” the state media outlet wrote.
A 38-year-old Russian citizen who ordered “The Showman” online from Poland may be fined up to 2,500 rubles ($29) for “failing to comply with prohibitions and restrictions” related to the shipment of goods into the country. The man was described as a “collector of historical literature who purchased a copy for personal use.”
Russia’s Justice Ministry did not list “The Showman” as being among the books outlawed in the country at the time of its seizure, according to the RBC news website. A video accompanying that report showed customs authorities screening a package and flipping through the confiscated book.
“The Showman” offers an inside account of Zelensky’s life before and after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It contains interviews with the Ukrainian leader, as well as those with members of his presidential staff and relatives.
Shuster reacted to the news of his book being seized in Moscow by urging readers to avoid traveling with or shipping his book to Russia “at least until there is more information from authorities.”
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