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Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed, Russia’s largest bookstore chain, says it has spent about 100 million rubles in recent years removing books that may violate Russian law and disposing of them. CEO Alexander Brychkin said books are sometimes destroyed by an industrial shredder on camera, while the chain bears the costs when suppliers will not take them back.
Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed, Russia’s largest bookstore chain, has spent about 100 million rubles in recent years removing books that may violate Russian law and disposing of them, the chain’s head, Alexander Brychkin, said in an interview with RBC. He said the chain pays the associated costs when suppliers will not accept the books back, and that a service provider destroys some of them on camera using an industrial shredder.
Brychkin said the expense includes more than the destruction itself. The chain must take books off shelves, move them back to a warehouse, transport them and arrange processing. He said suppliers often cannot or will not take the stock back, forcing the retailer to write it off as a loss. The reported total covers costs accumulated over recent years; Brychkin did not give a detailed breakdown or specify the exact period.
According to Brychkin, the chain acts after receiving notice from the Russian Book Union that there are suspicions about a particular book. Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed then suspends sales until the matter is clarified. He said the destruction process is carried out by a service provider and recorded on video. The account does not establish that every book pulled from sale is ultimately shredded.
Brychkin said some books by writers Boris Akunin and Lyudmila Ulitskaya had been removed from sale, and claimed readers showed no noticeable interest in them. He said some Akunin books remain in the chain’s warehouse and have not been destroyed because they cannot be returned to the supplier, describing their storage as restricted. His interview did not specify how many copies or titles are involved.
The Cost of Pulling Books
The chain’s account shows how book restrictions can create direct costs for retailers as well as reduce the availability of titles to readers. The stated 100 million rubles includes handling and logistics as well as disposal, according to Brychkin, and the chain says it receives no compensation for those steps. The figure is the company head’s estimate, not an independently itemized accounting in the reporting.
The process also leaves books in an uncertain position while a review is pending: sales may stop after a notice of suspicion, even before a final determination is clear. Brychkin said the chain cannot be certain that one organization’s review settles whether a book may be sold, since another assessment could be taking place elsewhere. The interview does not describe the legal procedures or criteria behind those separate assessments.
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How Store Reviews Begin
Brychkin described the Russian Book Union’s notice as the trigger for taking a title off sale. The chain then holds the book out of commerce while seeking clarity. He said there is no guarantee that a favorable assessment by the union ends the matter, because another organization may be conducting a separate review. The source report does not provide further detail about the union’s authority or the formal status of its notices.
The reported costs come amid recurring removals of books from Russian stores in recent years, according to Meduza. As a recent example, the report said Roskomnadzor banned two novels by Olga Ptitseva in October 2026: The 203rd Day of Winter and The Spring of Water. Media reports suggested the ban may have been related to alleged promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations”; that explanation was reported as a possible basis, not established here as the regulator’s confirmed rationale.
““Mostly it’s the inability to return the goods to the supplier, so we have to write them off as a loss.””
— Alexander Brychkin, head of Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed, in an interview with RBC
Open Questions on Reviews
The reported account does not break down the 100 million rubles by year, title, removal, transport or destruction, and it does not say how the figure was calculated. It is also unclear how many books have been removed, how many have been destroyed, or how many remain in storage. Brychkin’s description of the process is the chain’s account; the report provides no independent verification of its costs or disposal records.
The source does not identify the titles or number of books covered by the reported spending, nor explain what formal standard determines when a suspicion is resolved. Brychkin said the chain may receive notice from the Russian Book Union and that other organizations could conduct parallel reviews. Whether any particular title will return to sale, be returned to a supplier or be destroyed remains unclear.
Pending Titles and Costs
For books still held in the warehouse, the immediate next step depends on whether they can be returned to suppliers or whether the chain decides they must be disposed of. Brychkin said some Akunin books have not been destroyed because a supplier will not take them back; he did not give a timeline for their eventual handling.
The report does not announce a new policy or a scheduled review. The chain’s stated approach is to suspend sales after a notice of suspicion and wait for clarity, while the final outcome may depend on assessments by organizations beyond the retailer. Further information on the total costs, the number of affected books and the status of individual titles has not been provided.
Key Questions
How much has Chitai-Gorod–Bukvoed spent removing books?
Chain head Alexander Brychkin said it has spent about 100 million rubles in recent years on pulling books from sale and disposing of them. He did not provide a detailed accounting or exact date range.
Why does the bookstore remove books from sale?
Brychkin said the chain suspends sales after receiving a notice from the Russian Book Union that there are suspicions about a title. He said the books stay off sale until the matter is clarified.
Are all books removed from sale destroyed?
The report does not say that every removed book is destroyed. Brychkin said some books by Boris Akunin remain in a warehouse because they cannot be returned to the supplier and have not yet been disposed of.
How are books disposed of, according to the chain?
Brychkin said a service provider destroys books on camera with an industrial shredder. The interview does not specify how many books have been processed this way.
What remains unknown about the spending?
The report does not give a year-by-year breakdown, the number of titles or copies affected, or the share of the total spent on handling versus destruction. The total is Brychkin’s reported estimate.
Source: meduza.io
