Mass Reading in an Era of Change

This chapter distinguishes three different eras in the evolution of mass reading in (Soviet) Russia: late ‘Brezhnev’ socialism, ‘perestroika and glasnost,’ and the post-Soviet period (‘the rowdy 1990s’). In the first period, impressive quantitative performance was accompanied by general dissatisfaction with what bookstores and libraries had to offer. A significant part of the printed output was low-grade propaganda literature that did not arouse interest among readers. The period of glasnost was marked by the rapid expansion of the boundaries of what was permitted and the demand for ‘returned literature’: works of emigrants and dissidents. The third period is characterized by a decline in the popularity of journalistic and generally ‘difficult’ literature in favor of escapist, ‘light,’ or quasi-philosophical literature, as well as ‘lifestyle literature’: home economics, gardening, crafts, automotive, etc. If during perestroika the prevailing feeling was one of forward movement and the quick passage of time, then the 1990s were perceived as a difficult period that had to be endured. Readers’ priorities changed accordingly. In the post-Soviet period, reading lost its high status that existed in previous years, experiencing powerful competition from the Internet and television. But the most important development was the departure from the tradition of careful reading and the search for hidden meaning which were formed in Soviet times. Reading is increasingly becoming a ‘side activity.’