Prosveshcheniye Publishing cut prices on September 21 for four history textbooks for grades 10–11 by 36.94–44.98%. The decision was made to comply with a second order from the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), which required the publisher to set economically justified wholesale prices. This was an actual price change for specific schoolbooks, not merely an intention to review pricing policy: earlier, in August, the publisher had already cut prices on 94 Russian language, history and biology textbooks.
What changed in the prices of history books
The cuts effective September 21 affected four textbooks for senior grades—10 and 11. The stated reduction for these books ranges from 36.94% to 44.98%. The information released does not give the original or new prices in rubles, so it is impossible to compare the cost of individual books in monetary terms.
The August change covered a broader list: 94 Russian language, history and biology textbooks. Some teaching materials were reported to have become up to 78% cheaper. Thus, the autumn decision concerns a specific group of history textbooks, while the earlier one applied to three school subjects at once.
Why the FAS intervened
The antitrust service’s second order requires wholesale prices to be economically justified. According to the FAS, they must not exceed the costs of producing and selling the textbooks, plus the profit necessary for this activity. It was following this requirement that Prosveshcheniye announced the price cuts for four books for grades 10–11.
This approach ties textbook prices to the costs of producing and selling them, as well as to the publisher’s necessary profit. The service’s statement does not specify the cost calculations, previous prices or individual profit figures. The confirmed details of the decision—the number of books affected, when the change took effect and the percentage reductions—indicate its scope, but do not make it possible to reconstruct the pricing formula for each edition.
How the publisher explains the decision
Prosveshcheniye’s press service told Vedomosti that the education system is steadily transitioning to unified state textbooks. The publisher described its role in this work as partnering with the state and providing schools with high-quality educational literature. These comments offer context on the company’s position, but do not change the reason for the price cuts identified by the FAS: compliance with its order.
The final cost of a particular teaching resource matters to school libraries and families, but the published information does not include the new prices in rubles or clarify how the changes will affect individual schools’ purchases. What is established is that four history textbooks for senior grades became cheaper within the stated range. The broader August price cuts, covering 94 titles across three subjects, remain a separate measure.
What this could mean for regional budgets
The FAS believes that lower textbook prices will help regional budgets save money and make educational literature more accessible to schoolchildren. In this case, the savings are a possible effect of the price changes, not a stated amount: the available information does not specify how much could be saved.
The combination of the August review of 94 textbooks and the subsequent price cuts on four history books shows that the order affected different parts of the publisher’s schoolbook range. But the overall financial impact cannot be assessed without prices in rubles, purchase volumes and information on how textbooks are distributed across regions. For readers and purchasing officials, the key verifiable points for now are the subjects covered, the number of titles and the stated percentage reductions.
Key takeaway: After a second order from the FAS, Prosveshcheniye cut prices on four history textbooks for grades 10–11 by 36.94–44.98%; in August, it had revised prices on 94 textbooks across three subjects.
Sources
- vedomosti.ru — “Cut prices on Russian language and history textbooks”
- rbc.ru — “FAS: Prosveshcheniye Publishing cut prices on”
- ria.ru — “Prosveshcheniye Publishing cut prices on textbooks”
- mel.fm — “FAS secured price cuts on the publisher’s textbooks”
- narianmar.bezformata.com — “FAS: Prosveshcheniye Publishing cut prices on”
