"In general, we really feel Rand’s increased popularity," Antonova says. Irina Antonova, marketing director of Alpina Publishing Group, which distributes Rand's books in Russia, says sales of "Atlas Shrugged" were up 40 percent in 2018 compared to 2017. Now, after 20 years of rule under President Vladimir Putin, that moment might have arrived, as many young Russians turn to ideas like libertarianism and authors like Rand in their search for political alternatives. We need to bring her back.” A new beginning “There are many stereotypes in Russia about her, like that her ideas are social Darwinist or fascist,” she says. Rand’s holy grail - the free market - was seen as the primary cause of the decade’s inequality, hyperinflation and financial collapse.Īnastasia Grigorovskaya, a Russian literary scholar who specializes in the author's work, says Rand continues to be sidelined in her native country as a result. And she wrote the most powerful anti-communist books.”īy the time her books were translated into Russian in the late 1990s, much of the nation had become disillusioned with the painful transition to capitalism. “I can’t think of a more dedicated anti-communist than Ayn Rand,” says Yaron Brook, the chairman of the U.S.-based Ayn Rand Institute, who is on a whirlwind global tour to promote the author. Her philosophy - which preaches radical self-reliance and individualism - ensured that her works didn’t make it onto local bookshelves until well after the fall of the Soviet Union. While she is a household name in the United States, where she emigrated as a young adult and rose to become a best-selling author and conservative icon, most people in Russia admit they have never heard of her or read her work. There is no museum dedicated to her life in the city, no street named in her honor and no plaque proudly stating where she lived or studied. 2, 1905, largely remains an obscure figure in her hometown. A star in America, forgotten in Russiaĭespite the hype around the conference, Rand, who was born in St. Soon after, they cram into a nearby conference hall, where they will remain for some eight hours of uninterrupted discussion on Rand’s teachings and how they apply to present-day Russia in honor of her 114th birthday. Or, as she is referred to here: “the Goddess of the Market” and “a real-live hero.” But the real reason they’re here is Ayn Rand, the renowned and reviled advocate of unbridled capitalism and the free market. They make small talk - about the icy cold weather outside and their exams. Petersburg on Saturday, a band of young anarchists clad in black gathers around a middle-aged economics professor clutching a briefcase.
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