Russia’s Justice Ministry added late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s memoir “Patriot” to its list of “extremist” materials Wednesday — a move that bans the book — following a decision by the Leningrad Regional Court in June.

Leonid Volkov, who served as chief of staff for Navalny’s 2018 presidential campaign, said on his Telegram channel that Russian President Vladimir Putin “feared, fears, and will always fear” Alexei Navalny.

“A very good book, be sure to read it,” he added.

Ivan Zhdanov, another close ally of the late opposition leader, suggested the ban would backfire.

“I am sure that now even more people will read it,” he said. “The book is available in all stores around the world and in every library. Putin is the one who’s an extremist.”

Alexandra Baeva, a lawyer, told the exiled Russian news outlet Agentstvo that searches for terms such as “Patriot Navalny” or “Patriot book Navalny” could now be treated as attempts to find extremist materials.