In 1998, Mary Duncan opened Shakespeare & Company bookstore in Moscow. The store thrived, selling English-language books. “But we didn’t survive the election of President Vladimir Putin. Within a month of his inauguration in 2000, new, slickly dressed city officials claimed our sign did not conform to proper standards, our wiring was a fire hazard and our paperwork was incomplete. Fifty-dollar fines escalated to $1,500.”