The organisations and groups which play a part in Soviet book publishing do so against a background of authoritatively accepted opinion about the position and purposes of book publishing in a socialist society. The views expressed are by no means unanimous in their emphasis. The principles of Party spirit (partiinost), closeness to the people (narodnost), and direction by Party and government are not placed in question; but other matters quite fundamental to the ideological function and economic status of book publishing are under active debate – although a dominant or more deeply established view is often discernible. This chapter examines some of the most important prevailing assumptions and disputes about publishing as an act of industrial production; about demand and pricing; subsidy and profit; quality, effectiveness and optimality; and the power of the reader.

Publishing as production

There is general acceptance in the USSR that publishing, like the other mass media, is in some sense a cultural, and more specifically an ideological activity. The State Committee for Publishing, Printing and the Book Trade of the USSR Council of Ministers is often classified as an organ of cultural organisation, alongside the Ministry of Culture, the State Committee for Television and Radio, the State Committee for Cinematography, and the Committee for Physical Culture and Sport. To a much greater degree than the other mass media, however, Soviet publishing depends on a considerable industrial capacity to fulfil its cultural and ideological purposes: over 83 000 book and pamphlet volumes in nearly 1.7 thousand million copies were issued in 1975.