Moscow bookseller unable to send customers SMS about ‘End of Regime,’ Alexander Baunov’s new book

Falanster, an iconic Moscow bookshop catering to the city’s intellectual crowd, was confronted with censorship when trying to send out a marketing SMS. The title of Alexander Baunov’s new book, “End of Regime,” appears to have triggered censorship filters across multiple wireless providers when mentioned in an SMS.

Falanster sent SMS notifications to customers who had expressed their interest in the book ahead of its publication. Several days later, the bookseller realized that no one had received the news that Baunov’s book was available at the store.

Technical support told Falanster that the message could not be delivered because it contained “possibly illegal information.” The SMS finally went through when the words “End of Regime” were deleted from the text.

Alexander Baunov says he should have given his book a different title, maybe “Regime Without End.”