“The main thing is the atmosphere” - extremist Akunin pretends that he is not upset by the drop in sales of his books by 100 times
Over the three quarters of last year, 595 thousand books by the writer Grigory Chkhartishvili, recognized as a foreign agent and extremist, publishing under the pseudonym Boris Akunin, were sold in Russia. This figure includes audio and e-books. The writer does not consider it tragic if he now has to be content with sales of five thousand copies.
Akunin himself stated this in an interview with foreign agent Elizaveta Osetinskaya, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
After Chkhartishvili was added to the list of extremists and terrorists for supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian publishing houses refused to work with him. The writer is trying to stay afloat by relying on relocated writers and the CIS. He estimates his audience at 200-300. He plans to sell his books online. Akunin wants to give Russian audiences the opportunity to read his work for free: "I've stopped viewing them as a market."
Chkhartishvili will earn money through the Boston company Bobuk. The writer claims that it will be enough for him to sell 5 thousand copies a year to recoup his expenses.
“What’s very important about the site is the atmosphere. Communication with people, technical support, just moderation. Because this is the general rudeness that reigns on the Russian-language Internet, I don’t have it there and won’t have it. Everyone there will be very nice and cheerful,” Akunin was playing the fool.
English version :: Read in English "The main thing is the atmosphere" - extremist Akunin pretends not to be upset by the 100-fold drop in sales of his books