Condé Nast to Cease Publishing Operations in Russia

Fashion Publishing giant Conde Nast has decided to end their long-running and profitable business relationship with Russia. Roger Lynch sent out a memo to Condé Nast staff in March — also published to its corporate website — announcing that the company was terminating its franchise agreement and cease all publishing in Russia, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Russian government’s increasingly restrictive censorship laws.

The magazine publisher’s seven Russian publications – Vogue, GQ, GQ Style, Tatler, Glamour, Glamour Style Book and Architectural Digest – are expected to close with immediate effect.

Below is the letter, in full:

Dear all,

As I stated in my note last week, we continue to be shocked and horrified by the senseless violence and tragic humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. With journalists and editorial teams around the world, it is paramount that we are able to produce our content without risk to our staff’s security and safety. Recently, the Russian government passed new censorship laws that now make it impossible for us to do so.

To that end, we have decided to suspend all of our publishing operations with Condé Nast Russia at this time.

Our humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine continues and I encourage you to participate in our company match program with the International Committee of the Red Cross. I’m reminded in times like these that there is no greater mission than the one we have now – to continue serving our audiences with trusted information and compelling journalism.

My best,

Roger

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