What do Russians  read?

This online survey was conducted among 3600 students across 30 regions of Russia. What exactly do Russian students like to read today? It was interesting for me to answer this question for myself. I studied at the University of Philology, so reading books was one of the most important things during my studies.  

For 5 years of study I have read hundreds of books, including foreign classics and ancient texts of Russia. 

I graduated in 2009. It has been 10 years and today, it seems to me that the younger generation does not read at all, but only watches videos on YouTube. 

I was wrong, todays students also read a lot.

According to the survey the most popular genres among students were adventure (41%), fantasy (40%), love stories (38%), poetry (30%), detective stories (29%) and books on psychology (29%). Foreign authors are in great demand among students (59%) compared to domestic (41%). The preferences for choosing between classical and modern literature were almost equally divided – 47% and 53%, respectively.

Among the favourite authors, most students indicated the names of Russian classics – A.S. Pushkin (17%), F. M. Dostoevsky (13%), L.N. Tolstoy (12%), M.A. Bulgakov (11%), S.A. Yesenin (9%).

Favourite foreign authors of Russian students – E.M. Remark (8%), S. King (7%), R. Bradbury (7%), J. Rowling (4%). The students were most impressed by the “Master and Margarita” Bulgakov (7%), “War and Peace” by Tolstoy (5%), “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky (3%), “Harry Potter” Rowling (2%), “Fahrenheit 451” by Bradbury (2%).    

According to the survey, in childhood and adolescence a significant part of the respondents had to faced pressure from parents – 45% answered that they were forced to read, and 13% of them say that such coercion was the reason for the growth of hostility towards books. Only  a fifth part of the study participants (21%)  exposure to books took place on a voluntary basis, and instead of compulsory measures, parents tried to instill a love of reading by example.

Now you know what Russians read. What about you? Do you like reading? Did you have pressure from your parents  to read or not?

Share your experience with me. I would be happy to know what YOU read NOW!

For everyone who writes  a comment under this article I will send my favourite ebook in Russian.

P.S. If you are impressed by Russian literature-My Russian courses you will find here