Navigating the Forbidden Across Normative Differences: A Winter’s Promise in Russian Translation

During the 2010s, the moral well-being of youth became a political priority in Russia. Concerns among older generations that foreign, mainly Western influences were corrupting the country’s youth provided the regime with a pretext to transform youth well-being into a matter of national security. This securitization of youth policy altered norms regarding what information young people were allowed to encounter and what was deemed forbidden. These shifting norms manifested in, among other things, discourse about Russian traditional values and the federal content rating law. Heightened anxiety over the forbidden further complicated cultural transfers to Russia, particularly those involving Western culture intended for young audiences, such as young adult (YA) literature written by Western authors.