Join us for a conversation with Felix Sandalov about forbidden topics people in Russia most want to write about, the many forms of censorship in Russian publishing and what AI has to do with it, Russophone literature in exile, and books from StraightForward's program on Russian war crimes, Siberian shamanism, and cyberwarfare.
Felix Sandalov is a Berlin-based publisher and the director of StraightForward, an exile initiative aimed at bringing uncensored Russian-language literature to readers worldwide. Since 2023, StraightForward has supported 12 books released in 11 languages. Previously, Sandalov led the Moscow publishing house Individuum, where he published more than 200 books and set a new standard for Russian-language non-fiction publishing. He began his career as a journalist, writing about music, literature and social issues. He was a German Chancellor Fellow of the Humboldt Foundation, hosted by Matthes & Seitz Berlin. His book Formation won the 2018 Andrei Bely Prize in the Humanities Research category. He is a member of PEN Berlin and of the Börsenverein’s IG Meinungsfreiheit, and was shortlisted for the International Publishers Association’s 2026 Freedom of Expression Award. The same year Russian government designated him a “foreign agent.”
Location: Hunter College CUNY (Lexington Avenue & East 68th Street, 6 train). Chanin Language Center (B126 Hunter West).
Directions: At the reception desk of the Hunter West Building, please present your ID to get a pass. From there, take the escalator tone floor down, turn around, and look for B126 (Chanin Language Center)
Felix Sandalov. "Straightforward Foundation and Exterritorial Publishing of Russian Nonfiction"
Photo: Natalia Smirnova