This paper considers the epistemological and methodological potential of the metaphor 'translation is smuggling', in particular as it relates to the axis of visibility/invisibility of the translator or other agents of the translation process. The metaphorization of translation as smuggling is shown to be a middle case between the two extremes: visibility and invisibility of the translator, allowing researchers to overcome this simplistic dichotomy. In the illustrative part of the paper, translation as smuggling is analyzed in two domains: the social-political and the sexual. Examples are taken from Russian translation history, mainly Boris Pasternak's and Ivan Dmitriev's translations of Western European writers. The metaphor 'translation is smuggling' is shown to be a useful methodological tool for studying translation as practised under various ideological and ethical pressures. Under the surface of its text, the translator as smuggler introduces a hidden content charged with a concealed subversive mission. This content represents the translator's own convictions, sentiments, and anxieties not found in the source text.