Nearly half of the foreign television series available on the streaming service Amediateka have been censored, according to the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, which examined 472 series, comparing the original versions with their Russian adaptations frame by frame.
Mediazona found 75 hours of censored scenes across 200 of the series it reviewed. More than half of that total — 44 hours — involved LGBTQ+ topics. The second-largest category, 12 hours, involved political content: mentions of Vladimir Putin, references to the war in Ukraine, and real or fictional episodes from the history of Russia or the USSR. Scenes involving incest, pedophilia, drugs, and “non-traditional” sex were also frequently cut.
Beyond outright scene removal, Amediateka often “softens” words and concepts in translation. When a character’s homosexuality comes up, for example, the line “he’s gay” becomes “he’s different.”
According to Mediazona, partner studios produce translations for Amediateka following a specific set of guidelines that outline translation requirements. Amediateka then reviews the translated, corrected, and dubbed content and makes additional edits.
Amediateka is the official Russian distributor of series from studios such as HBO, Showtime, AMC, and Warner Bros. Other major streaming services, including Okko and “Kinopoisk,” use Amediateka’s translations for these series.
Mediazona reports that Amediateka has been cited for its content at least six times: four citations for incorrect age ratings, and two under the law on “propaganda of nontraditional relationships.”
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