Vladimir Grigoriev is Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications and he is a tireless campaigner and champion of Russian literature and culture at all the world's major book fairs: he has famously said, ‘Russian literature should know no boundaries.'

Born in 1958, Vladimir Grigoriev worked as an editor for the Novosti news agency from 1982 to 1990, after which he founded and headed the publishing house Vagrius. Vladimir Grigoriev has worked unflaggingly to promote and support the publication of Russian books and the protection of authorial rights during the difficult, transitional period from the old publishing protocol inherited from the former Soviet Union to the establishment of a new, market-oriented, internationally recognized modus operandi.

He has been honoured with prizes in recognition of his work for services to Russian publishing and the dissemination of literature and culture not only in the Russian Federation (2001), but also in Poland (2005) and in France (2006). Grigoriev is also one of the founders of the prestigious book prize ‘Bolshaia kniga' (‘Big Book') - the second largest cash award, after the Nobel Prize. His unique insights into the increasingly buoyant and expanding market for Russian books makes him an extremely interesting and valuable speaker.

‘Who Rules The Russian Book Market Today?’

Vladimir Grigoriev, Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications, interviewed by Svetlana Adjoubei, Academia Rossica

Monday 19, 2.30pm, Marlborough Room, Earls Court 1

In the last two decades the Russian book market has undergone an enormous transition and is now a major player in the international publishing arena. There are currently more than 5700 publishers in Russia, producing around 123,000 new and revised titles each year – putting it among the US, China and the UK in world rankings. With more than a 14% annual increase in total print run, it is one of the largest and most profitable markets in the world.

However this fast growth and glittering success is the product of an environment in a permanent state of flux. Publishing houses fight tooth and nail to seize control of this immensely lucrative and vibrant market.

So who does control this vibrant and dynamic industry and what is behind its drive for expansion?

Find out at the ‘Who Rules The Russian Book Market Today’ seminar with Vladimir Grigoriev and Svetlana Adjoubei.