The key facts

  • Classics is the third most popular genre among reading schoolchildren (34%), ahead of fantasy (30%) and science fiction (21%)
  • The most impressive books are Crime and Punishment and The Master and Margarita
  • 74% read a brief summary when short of time; 20% do not use AI at all when reading

What the survey showed

Classical literature remains in demand among Russian schoolchildren and ranks among their three favorite genres: 34% of reading respondents choose it — more often than fantasy (30%), adventure (28%), and science fiction (21%). This is evidenced by the results of a survey by the Umskul online school for Unified State Exam and Basic State Exam preparation, received by Gazeta.Ru. The most popular genres among reading schoolchildren turned out to be romance novels (40%) and detective stories (38%).

Which books impress and how they choose

When asked about works that impressed them, schoolchildren most often named Crime and Punishment and The Master and Margarita. Other frequent answers included War and Peace, A Hero of Our Time, Fahrenheit 451, The Little Prince, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Harry Potter. A new book is most often chosen based on the plot description (68%); 43% rely on previous experience with the author, 32% on mentions on social media, screen adaptations influence 27%, and the cover influences 25%.

The school curriculum and AI

According to Umskul, works from the school curriculum are interesting to almost half of students (46%), and for 78% the interest emerges during the reading process itself. Among those reading school literature, 24% often find that a work turns out to be better than expected, and another 54% — sometimes. Books with an engaging plot are the most memorable (76%).

When there is not enough time

When there is not enough time for reading for school, 74% of schoolchildren turn to a brief summary; 32% watch video breakdowns, 27% read as much as they manage, 26% listen to the audiobook, and only 21% ask a neural network to summarize the work. At the same time, AI is used more broadly: 41% use it to prepare for a lesson or test, 36% to better understand the meaning of a work, 34% to figure out a confusing moment, and 24% to learn additional information about characters or the plot. Every fifth schoolchild (20%) does not use AI at all when reading.

Context

Gazeta.Ru also recalls its earlier piece about which books Russians reread during difficult moments in life.