Interest in Books Is Declining in russia, While Authorities Are Replacing Literature with Propaganda

russia’s authorities continue to tighten ideological control over education amid the rapid decline of the book market. The ministry of education of the rf has officially approved an updated list of required summer reading for schoolchildren, including a number of propaganda publications about so-called heroes of the “special military operation”.

At the same time, the kremlin is bringing back to school reading lists the works of soviet war literature about the “young guard” and World War II. Experts view these steps as a continuation of a large-scale campaign to militarize education and foster the young people’s loyalty to kremlin policies.

Against the background of the active imposition of the “right” literature, russia’s book market is undergoing a deep crisis. In the first quarter of 2026, the total print run of books and brochures in the rf fell to 57.3 million copies – by 26% fewer than in the same period last year. This is the worst figure in at least the last six years.

Participants at the “russia’s book industry” conference cited inflation, rising taxes, a decline in purchasing power, demographic decline, and increased censorship as the causes of the crisis.

The decline in print runs indicates a decrease in russians’ interest in reading. At the same time, the authorities are increasingly pushing independent and critical views out of the educational sphere, replacing them with politically biased publications. As a result, books in russia are becoming not a tool for developing critical thinking, but a means of pro-kremlin propaganda.