In 2005, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of world-famous authoress/philosopher Ayn Rand.
At the Vilnius conference this July, the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) and Libertarian International (LI) joined forces to proclaim 2005 "The Year of Ayn Rand". Both are planning projects to make this celebration one to remember. We are anxious to contribute to this through a Rand book-publishing project.
This wonderful occasion will take place in a challenging political and ideological context.
As we heard at the Vilnius conference, Russia is in dire need of major systemic changes — and indeed the Russian leadership is seeking solutions.
Current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is unusually popular with the Russian populace with about 70% public support. He is considered a patriot in Russia, as well as in his home city of St. Petersburg — and the probability of his re-election in 2004 is quite high.
Being concerned about his historical legacy, it is widely thought that he will try to introduce significant changes in both the economic and ideological policies of the country.
But he is distrustful of western authors and philosophers and wants to come up with something uniquely Russian. Thus Ayn Rand and her Objectivism, with such obvious Russian roots, could very well satisfy this demand for a new ideology — and could shape the ideological and philosophical foundation of the Russian-speaking world for many years to come.
Inroads have already been made with the introduction of the Russian edition of Rand's Atlas Shrugged to Putin's top economic advisor Andre Illarionov by myself (Jaroslav
Romanchuk) and Dmitry Kostygn at a Moscow book fair. Illarionov subsequently published strong endorsements of Rand in The Moscow Times (and Wall Street Journal).
The Book Project
The long-term goal of the project is to introduce the works of Ayn Rand and her philosophy to Russian-speaking countries, and to make these ideas a part of the intellectual mainstream of the culture. To accomplish this, we intend to print and sell millions of copies of Rand's works throughout the Russian-speaking world.
The Product
Russian translations and printing of Ayn Rand's works, starting with her three major novels. The novels (along with some of her minor works) have already been translated, and gone through a first printing (thanks in part to support by ISIL, back in 1992) — but stocks are depleted, mainly through distributions to schools. Eventually, we intend to publish all her works in Russian, and may publish additional works related to Rand's life, objectivism, and economics.
The Market
We aim to reach Russian readers in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, then Russian-speaking people in other countries such as the Baltic States and Central Asia. We will use two primary distribution channels:
- Professional book wholesalers.
- Other middlemen who are not in the book business per se, such as think tanks, educational institutions, and political parties.
Belarus and Ukraine
Belarus and Ukraine also offer a good potential for applying Rand's novels and philosophy. In Belarus, we have a larger network of people to help produce and publicize the books, but the market is weak. The business community is small, and the state acts aggressively to control cultural attitudes and education. In Ukraine, the market is bigger and less controlled — but our network of contacts is smaller. We plan to pursue both of these markets, using different approaches, and secondarily to the Russian market.
As Russia struggles to find a new direction, Rand can enter the market of ideas here with the least possible cost and with significant potential to become accepted. It's an opportunity that admirers and promoters of Rand and objectivism all around the world should not miss.
International Society for Individual Liberty
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"Year of Ayn Rand" Publishing Project (Russia)
