Book sales revenue in Russia 2015-2022, by type

Print book sales in Russia reached over 90 billion Russian rubles in 2022, up from 84 billion Russian rubles in the previous year. In 2020, the industry was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of traditional bookstores during the lockdown. The market of electronic and audiobooks, however, has continuously increased over the observed period. In total, Russian print and digital book sales grew by around seven percent in 2022.

Print book sales in Russia

Offline bookstores are the main sales channel of print books in Russia, accounting for around 46 percent of the revenue. E-commerce websites rank second with a nearly 30-percent share. The highest earnings from print book sales come from the Central Federal District. The Northwestern and Volga Federal Districts are the second- and third-leading regions in terms of revenue.

Reading behavior of Russians

Nearly eight out of ten Russians aged 18 to 24 years read at least one book in the past six months, according to a survey from June 2021. That age group represented the most active readers among the adult population. To compare, in the age group from 35 to 44 years, the share of book readers over the same period was 10 percent lower. When asked about their favorite book genres, most Russians named fiction and popular science.