In this commentary, the author stresses that reading habits in Russia have changed since the Soviet era, and the more intellectual journals and magazines in particular have lost their importance. Audiences for books and magazines have fragmented, and there are fewer sources of commonly shared information and ideas than was true a few decades ago. The author concludes by highlighting the changes in Russia's literary culture of the past twenty years: those who initiated them, and those who blocked them; their direction, rapidity, prospects, and, ultimately, their meaning and significance. (Contains 6 tables and 9 notes.) [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]