Circulations of books fell by 23% in three months since the beginning of the year

The circulation of books and brochures published in Russia in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to 69 million copies, which is 23% less than in the same period last year. This is reported by “Kommersant” with reference to the data of the Russian Book Chamber.

The total circulation of books and brochures in hardcover fell by 31%, to 23 million copies, and the number of titles — by 12%, to nine and a half thousand. The circulation of reprints decreased by 28%, to 19 million copies.

The most published author in the first quarter of 2023 was Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), who was called an ROC hierarch close to Putin and even the confessor of the Russian president.

Among the reasons for the drop in circulation, experts and market participants cite the influence of sanctions imposed on Russia after the start of a full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. In particular, publishers faced a shortage of coated paper, consumables, equipment and spare parts.

In addition, the number of licenses of foreign authors, which publishers cannot renew from 2022, has decreased. A number of authors, in particular, Stephen King, Joan K. Rowling, have suspended cooperation with Russian publishing houses.

Also, experts note, the legal book market is shrinking due to piracy. “Now more and more people turn to either free digital copies on the Internet, or to illegal editions on marketplaces,” notes the former head of the Association of Internet Publishers, Vladimir Kharitonov. The situation with circulations will worsen until publishers find new ways to fight piracy, he believes.