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Federal budget spends over 650 mln rubles on book publishing in Russia in 2006-2011

The money financed the publishing of circulations of over 3,000 books

MOSCOW, January 6 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian federal budget assigned over 650 million rubles in support to book publishing under the Russian Culture program in 2006-2011, according to head of the department for periodicals, book publishing and printing industry of the Federal Press and Mass Media Agency Yuri Pul.

“The money financed the publishing of circulations of over 3,000 books,” he said.

The allocations centered on nine priorities, among them books for children and teenagers, books on socially significant subjects, books of national autonomous districts, reference books and encyclopedias.

The sponsored books were selected by an expert council, which had 23 members, among them academicians and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences and staff members of ministries and departments. Fiction books amounted to 14.5% of the total number, while scientific and technical books amounted to 13.3%. Pul said that state support focused on books with large cultural, humanitarian and social significance.

A total of 612 publishing houses, among them 382 based in Moscow, applied for state funding within the past five years, he said.

Russia started rendering state support to book publishing in 1992. A total of 390 million rubles were assigned for book publishing from 2002 to 2005. The Russian Culture program will continue in the period of 2012-2018.

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