Russians have Little Interest in Books about Putin’s War in Ukraine, Publishers Tell ‘Vyorstka’

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 10 – Since Putin launched his expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian publishing houses have released 259 books about that situation; but most in extremely modest print runs of 3,000 copies or fewer because Russians aren’t that interested in such books and publishers don’t see such books as a profit center.

            That is what publishers, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Vyorstka portal (verstka.media/kto-v-rossii-pishet-i-chitaet-knigi-o-vojne-v-ukraine), a report that has now been discussed by The Moscow Times (ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/06/10/rossiyane-otkazalis-chitat-patrioticheskie-knigi-o-voine-protiv-ukraini-a197844).

            Indeed, the only way publishers can make money on such books is by selling them to schools or public libraries which likely feel compelled to buy them, although there is little likelihood that Russians read such books even when they are on the shelves of such public institutions.