Vladimir Tolstoy, a member of Russia's Public Chamber, told a session of parliament that he had been sent a list of books that were "banned" by the education council in the village of Kharbatovo, in the southern Irkutsk Region, the Interfax news agency reports . Titles including Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen were on the list, Mr Tolstoy said, adding that it was apparently done in accordance with a law aimed at protecting children from "harmful information", which came into force in September 2012. Local education officials have since denied the reports, saying no such instructions were issued and no books had been seized.