Difficult Counter-Public
Russian Publishers in Emigration
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The war against Ukraine, increasing repression, and growing censorship have driven thousands of writers, journalists, publishers, and creative minds in the publishing industry from Russia into exile. They have founded numerous publishing houses and produce everything for which there is no longer room in Russia: non-fiction books on taboo subjects, anti-war literature, fiction by celebrities such as Boris Akunin, Vladimir Sorokin, or Dmitrii Gluchovskii, as well as unknown authors who are banned in their homeland. They contribute to a counter-public that also shines back on Russia. The creativity and flexibility of this publishing world in exile is high, but their financial situation will remain difficult until a functioning market emerges. The writer Mikhail Shishkin praises its work: “They are saving the dignity of our culture.”
(Osteuropa 1-3/2025, pp. 397–410)