“They recently closed and ransacked the library that Mikhail Zadornov opened and maintained with his own money for Latvian children. And they disposed of the books there, sent them for recycling, burned them. <...> They stole his house, stole his library, I mean, disposed of it. Well, there you have it... As the culture, so the politics — or vice versa,” Azaronak said on August 13, 2026, on the SBTV program Letuchka.
This was a reference to Mikhail Zadornov’s library, which was established in Jūrmala in 2009. Its collection includes more than 40,000 books. After the previous building was sold, the library moved to the House of Moscow in Riga in 2017. In 2024, the House of Moscow was taken into Latvian state ownership, forcing the library to seek a new location once again.
However, there is no evidence suggesting that the library was closed, ransacked, or that its collection was destroyed. On the contrary, it continues to operate. The library regularly posts announcements on its social media pages about poetry readings, book presentations, meetings with readers, and other events.
We also reached out to the library administration for a comment. They refuted Ryhor Azaronak’s claims.
“Our library is operating successfully in the center of Riga. No one looted it. Don’t believe pseudo-journalists. After Mr Zadornov passed away, Lyudmila Zadornova helped preserve the library. And now the library is supported by Swiss citizen Walter Denz. <...> The Nikolai and Mikhail Zadornov Library is actively operating. We are located in prestigious, spacious premises. We frequently host events and presentations for new books, as you can see on our Facebook page. The entire collection of the library, established in 2009, has been preserved.”
Source: BIC, Weekly Top Fake
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