A major publisher explained what the demolition of 'Rospechat' kiosks in Yekaterinburg could lead to.

      The vice president of the Union of Printing Industry Enterprises of the Guild of Periodical Publishers (SPPI GIPP) of the Russian Federation, Yevgeny Abov, said that the demolition of Rospechat kiosks in Yekaterinburg will deal a significant blow to the mass daily and weekly press.

      "This is a serious blow to the distribution of the print press. Perhaps for expensive glossy magazines this is not so significant: they can rely on distribution through grocery retail chains, where the customer profile is better suited than at ordinary press kiosks. But for the vast majority of the mass press, street press kiosks are a critically important distribution channel," Abov told Ura.Ru.

      According to him, more than 80% of the total circulation of printed publications is distributed through retail chains, not by subscription. And for chain stores this is not a priority item.

      "The press is a low‑margin, low‑profit item for them. In almost all retail chains, the spaces allocated for selling the press are shrinking. Press kiosks are important precisely because for them printed press and books are the main, 'anchor' product. The bulk of the circulations of dailies and weeklies, such as Argumenty i Fakty, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, TV guides, regional and local publications, is distributed through press kiosks," the vice president of SPPI added.

      Recall that the mass demolition of Rospechat kiosks began in Yekaterinburg in July 2025. By September all of this network's retail outlets may disappear from the streets of Yekaterinburg.

      Earlier a Rospechat representative said that the closure of newspaper and magazine kiosks in Yekaterinburg could turn into the closure of the press distribution network across the entire Sverdlovsk region. It was also reported that the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade had been asked to allow the Rospechat kiosks to remain in the city.

      Later, Sverdlovsk residents were told where to buy newspapers and magazines after the demolition of the Rospechat kiosks. We also reported that Rospechat employees in Yekaterinburg risk losing their jobs.