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Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed, Russia’s largest bookstore chain, says it has spent about 100 million rubles in recent years withdrawing books that may violate Russian law and disposing of them. Chief Alexander Brychkin says the books are destroyed by an outside provider using an industrial shredder, with the process recorded on camera.
Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed, Russia’s largest bookstore chain, has spent about 100 million rubles in recent years withdrawing books that may violate Russian law and arranging their disposal, the chain’s head, Alexander Brychkin, said in an interview with the business outlet RBC. Brychkin said the books are destroyed by a service provider using an industrial shredder, with the process filmed.
Brychkin said the company removes a title from sale after receiving notice from the Russian Book Union that there are suspicions about a particular book. The chain then halts sales “until clarity is reached,” he told RBC. He described the resulting work as including taking books off shelves, moving them to a warehouse, transporting and processing them, and paying for disposal.
According to Brychkin, suppliers often will not accept the books back, leaving the chain to write them off as a loss. The company also bears the costs of handling and destruction, he said. “The disposal process looks like this: a service provider destroys the books on camera using an industrial shredder,” Brychkin told RBC.
Brychkin said some books by writers Boris Akunin and Lyudmila Ulitskaya had been pulled from sale, but he reported no noticeable reader interest in those titles. Some Akunin books remain in the chain’s warehouse and have not yet been destroyed, he said, because they cannot be returned to the supplier. He described the stock as a form of restricted storage.
The Cost of Removing Books
The account shows that book restrictions can carry costs beyond lost sales. Brychkin said the chain pays for withdrawal, storage, transport and destruction, while unsellable inventory may remain on its books as a loss or sit in a warehouse. The roughly 100 million rubles he cited is the chain’s reported spending over recent years; the interview does not provide a yearly breakdown or a list of the titles included.
The process also places retailers in a position where they may suspend sales before a definitive determination is available. Brychkin said a notice of suspicion is enough for the chain to stop selling a book while it waits for clarity. His description highlights how uncertainty around enforcement can affect both the availability of books and the business decisions of sellers.
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How Books Are Flagged
Brychkin said the chain acts after receiving a notice from the Russian Book Union, which can flag a book as raising concerns. He said the company stops sales while the matter is unresolved, but cautioned that a positive assessment by the union would not guarantee that another organization was not conducting a separate review.
Book removals have occurred in Russia in recent years following demands from authorities or pro-government organizations, according to Meduza’s report. In October 2026, Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, banned Olga Ptitseva’s novels The 203rd Day of Winter and The Spring of Water. Media reports suggested the ban may have involved alleged promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations”; the stated reason should be treated as reported speculation, not a confirmed explanation in the source material.
“A service provider destroys the books on camera using an industrial shredder.”
— Alexander Brychkin, head of Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed, in an interview with RBC
Which Titles Face Disposal
The source does not identify all the books covered by the 100 million-ruble estimate, specify the period year by year, or explain how the figure was calculated. It is also unclear how many books have been destroyed, how many remain in storage, and how many may eventually be returned to sale or sent for disposal.
Brychkin’s comments describe the chain’s response to notices and its own costs; they do not establish that every flagged book has been found to violate the law. He said there may be overlapping assessments and that the chain cannot reach complete clarity from the union’s review alone. The source does not detail the legal process or provide responses from the Russian Book Union, regulators or the affected authors.
Pending Reviews and Inventory
The chain’s next steps for particular titles depend on the outcome of reviews and whether suppliers will take returned stock, according to Brychkin’s account. Some Akunin books remain in the warehouse, but he did not say when they might be disposed of or whether they could return to sale.
No further timetable or policy change was announced in the source report. The chain’s reported spending and the status of individual books could become clearer if it publishes a breakdown or if the relevant organizations issue decisions or guidance.
Key Questions
How much has Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed spent on removing books?
Chain head Alexander Brychkin told RBC that the company has spent about 100 million rubles in recent years. The report does not give a yearly breakdown.
Why does the bookstore remove books from sale?
Brychkin said the chain suspends sales after the Russian Book Union reports suspicions about a title, pending further clarity. The source does not say that every flagged book has been legally determined to violate the law.
How are the books destroyed?
Brychkin said an outside service provider destroys them with an industrial shredder while filming the process.
Are all the pulled books immediately destroyed?
No. Brychkin said some Boris Akunin books remain in the chain’s warehouse because they cannot be returned to the supplier. He did not give a total count of books awaiting disposal.
Source: meduza.io
