The specter of censorship reared its ugly head again this week when Moscow prosecutors launched an investigation of the Ultra Kultura publishing house. The investigation was opened at the behest of State Duma deputy Alexander Chuyev, a former liberal politician who now belongs to the nationalist Rodina party. Chuyev accused Ultra Kultura of printing pornographic books.

The books included "Baise-Moi (Rape me)" by French author Virginie Despentes and "Lady: My Life as a Bitch" by British author Melvin Burgess. The former had been adapted into a rather graphic film that was distributed legally in Russia. Burgess is a popular writer of teen-oriented fiction whose Russian editions were presented in Moscow last fall by Cherie Blair, the wife of the British prime minister.

Ultra Kultura specializes in alternative and extreme forms of literature. Sex and drugs feature prominently in its books -- but not much more so than in many recent Russian movies. It tends to favor anti-establishment authors, such as National Bolshevik Party founder Eduard Limonov. The head of the publishing house, Ilya Kormiltsev, is a poet with some cult standing, thanks to his work on the lyrics of the rock band Nautilus Pompilius. After the news broke, he challenged Chuyev to a debate on the talk show "To the Barrier," but the deputy declined, citing, among other reasons, his unwillingness to "advertise Kormiltsev and Ultra Kultura for a nationwide audience."

There's nothing new about using the stigma of pornography to fight things you don't like; it was used against such authors as D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce and Vladimir Nabokov. I recently stumbled on a 2000 decree from the Belarus Culture Ministry that defines pornography as "vulgar, naturalistic, disgustingly cynical, indecent, ... insulting the honor and decency of a person, debasing it to the level of animal instincts." With such a definition, you can find anything pornographic; any official can just say, "I guess it's vulgar and indecent."

And another small observation. There are several web sites that collect bits of Russian films featuring female nudity (most are nonoffensive even by Belarussian standards). Since the launch of the army-sponsored television channel Zvezda, most such contributions have come from films shown on the channel. Why is that? Are army officers venting their sexual discontent? Are they subtly trying to lure young men into the army? Shouldn't this be properly investigated?