What books do they read in Russia in the fifth year of the Great War? And why did the state fail to make the propaganda popular? The book industry in Russia is going through difficult times. Falling sales, rising prices, censorship, the departure of Western authors and publishers, as well as the dominance of propaganda books could not but affect what Russians now read. In addition to this, old books are being published more and more in Israel: forgotten classics, ancient detectives and horror stories. What does their popularity say about readers and publishers? And how did the battle over the literary past in Russia end? Literary critic Galina Jozefovich answers these questions in a text for Carnegie Politics. Medusa publishes this text in its entirety. Open with VPN | No VPN.