Reference News Network, October 1 report - According to the Russian "Gazeta" website, on September 26, it was reported that in the past two years, the demand for patriotic literary works among Russian readers has significantly increased. For example, a representative of "Reading City - Bookworm", Russia's largest chain bookstore, said that between January and August this year, sales of patriotic-themed books doubled compared to the same period in 2023, reaching nearly 217,000 copies.

The number of patriotic literary works available in the stores of this brand has also increased to 775 titles, an increase of 2.7 times.

In this chain bookstore, books categorized as patriotic themes cover genres such as novels, non-fiction works, and children's literature. The themes of these books are "intended to foster national identity and respect for historical heritage and the achievements of ancestors."

According to the bookstore's representative, the most popular patriotic-themed work is the novel "Starting with Words, Ending with Numbers" by Margarita Simonyan, the chief editor of Russia Today. By the end of August, the book had sold about 22,000 copies. The top five bestsellers in this category also include "Comic History of Russia: From the Ancient Slavs to the Putin Era," the novel "Half-Caste Cossack" by Zakhar Prilepin, the novel "The Wall" by Vladimir Medinsky, former Minister of Culture of Russia, and Simonyan's short story collection "Vortex."

Data from the platform of Russia's largest e-commerce company, Wildberries, also shows that between January and August 2025, the sales of war and history books increased by 136% and 35%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2024. Among the top-selling books are "The Fall of the Empire: Lessons of Russia" by Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, the short story collection "Frontline," and "Deeds Worth Remembering" (special issue of the magazine "Historian," featuring columns by editor-in-chief Vladimir Rudakov).

A similar trend has also emerged on Russia's largest e-book service platform, "Litres." Sales of patriotic and war-themed books on this platform increased by 81% and 40%, respectively. The most popular one is the co-authored book "Taking Bachmut: Operation 'Officer' " by Alexander Savitsky and Konstantin Lugovoy.

Social psychologist Alexei Rosin believes that the popularity of patriotic books reflects the public's response to state policies. He stated that today, Russians hope to understand the situation more deeply, fully comprehend and perceive the diversity and complexity of reality. He also said, "In Russia, it seems to be a historical tradition for writers to meet the needs of the public."

Valery Shabashov, operator of the Russian Telegram channel "Books and Reviews," believes that the popularity of patriotic literature is a long-term trend. He explained that on one hand, the country is integrating resources to promote patriotic narratives, and the publishing industry is no exception; on the other hand, in recent years, the reading public has also generated spontaneous reading demand for this genre, creating a resonance." (Translated by Han Ziling, Tong Shiqun)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7556113742770242063/

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