Moscow House of Books

The opening of the Moscow House of Books on Kalinin Avenue in Moscow (now Novy Arbat Street ) took place on September 25, 1967. It immediately became the largest bookstore in the USSR and one of the largest in Europe.

In 1998, the Moscow Center for Books was established, which included the Moscow Book House on Novy Arbat. The united book distribution network also included bookstores located in all administrative districts of the capital - from the city center to the "sleeping" districts.

The building of the Moscow House of Books is an integral part of the innovative architectural ensemble of Kalinin Avenue, the main reconstruction project in the capital of the USSR during the thaw ^[1] . In 1966, the Paris Center for Architectural Research awarded the Grand Prix to the team of authors (architects M. V. Posokhin and A. A. Mndoyants) for updating architectural forms and successes in the development of long-term urban development plans. ^[2] .

Over the half-century history of the Moscow House of Books, Russian and foreign writers, cultural figures, entertainers, cinema and theater artists, and athletes have become its guests. Among them are singer Michael Jackson , poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko , hockey player, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Vyacheslav Fetisov .

The first director of the Moscow House of Books was Tamara Vladimirovna Vishnyakova, a member of the presidium of the All-Union Society of Book Lovers. From 1979 to 1983 she was broadcast on the television show “What? Where? When? ”Presented the books“ MDK ”- prizes for the team of experts and viewers ^[3] .

In 1998, Nadezhda Ivanovna Mikhailova, President of the Association of Book Distributors of Independent States ^[4] , member of the Board of the Russian Book Union, and Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation ^[5] , took the post of General Director of GUP OTs Moscow House of Books. By the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 08.08.2006 No. 829, General Director of the State Unitary Enterprise “Moscow Book House” Center Nadezhda Ivanovna Mikhailova for her services in the field of culture, printing, broadcasting and many years of fruitful work was awarded the Medal of the Order for Services to the Fatherland, II degree ^{[6 ]} .

Now “Moscow House of Books” includes 21 universal and three specialized stores: “House of Pedagogical Books”, “House of Technical Books”, “House of Foreign Books”; as well as an online store; magazine “We read together. Navigator in the world of books. " MDK is 300 thousand titles of books, including second-hand and antique, stationery and office supplies, media products, souvenirs, numismatics and philately.

The Moscow House of Books is actively working as a socio-cultural center, promoting books and reading. There is a literary cafe in the central store on Novy Arbat, where up to 40 events of a literary and educational orientation are held every month - meetings with writers, thematic lectures and readings, music and theater evenings, quests, creative classes and performances for children. With the support of the Moscow Government, Moscow House of Books regularly holds children's festivals “Together with the book we grow!” And “Back to school!”.

More than 7 million readers visit the universal and specialized stores of the Moscow Book House every year. The total sales volume of the association totals more than 25 million books per year.

Moscow House of Books is a member of the Russian Book Union ^[7] .