Organized under the theme "Books Serve Peace and Progress," this year's event attracted large crowds, especially on the three days it was open to the public. Pathfinder Press participated for the first time, represented by Alan Harris of London and Carl-Erik Isacsson from Stockholm.
Harris explained in an interview that the Pathfinder table, which featured books and pamphlets by revolutionary and working-class leaders, was "permanently busy, with people buying literature, or making inquiries about the titles on display. Before the bookfair ended every book in English and Russian on the table had been sold - some 70 titles, including New Internationals, the five volumes in the Communist International in Lenin's Time series," Harris said.
The warm response was at times overwhelming. Dozens of people thanked the two for coming to the book fair, and they were repeatedly asked to return soon. "Have you a Moscow office?" and "How can I get your books after you have gone?" were common questions.
One librarian said, "It's good to hear Pathfinder is expanding and is now in Russia," as he purchased a copy of the Pathfinder mural poster for display at work.
Books attracting the most attention were Russian- language titles by Leon Trotsky, one of the central figures of the 1917 Russian revolution and the communist leadership during the early years of the revolution. Most people who stopped by the table knew Trotsky was a Bolshevik leader murdered in 1940 by the Stalinist bureaucracy, but few had actually read anything by him.
A librarian told the Pathfinder representatives how important the four-volume Bulletin of the Opposition was for her readers and how titles like these are "part of our suppressed history." She bought several books and requested Pathfinder representatives visit the library in Moscow on their next visit.
Another librarian who purchased the two-volume work Stalin by Trotsky congratulated Pathfinder for making it available. "You have no idea how rare and valuable these books are," she remarked.
It is not accidental that considerable interest was shown in those titles dealing with the early years of the Russian Revolution, the Communist International in Lenin's time, and the struggles of the Left Opposition against the rising Stalinist bureaucracy, Harris said.
He noted that many people at the fair explained that they have been denied knowledge of their own history for over 60 years due to the suppression of democratic rights under the Stalinist regime. Now that this period has ended, those Russian workers and intellectuals interested in politics who visited the stand found it refreshing that books like those published by Pathfinder are now available.
Other titles which attracted special attention were Lenin's Final Fight, To See The Dawn (Baku 1920), and The Truth about Yugoslavia.
"Several people who were interested in these titles," Harris said, "expressed opposition to the bloody war waged by the Russian government against the people of Chechnya and were concerned about the war taking place in the former Yugoslavia. Their comments led to a discussion on how Lenin was uncompromising in his opposition to national chauvinism and the repression of national rights within the young Soviet Union.
"One older worker explained that the Russian government's attitude towards Chechnya is similar to that of the British government towards Ireland," Harris said, "and he added that the Russian politicians supporting President Yeltsin will never defeat a determined struggle by workers for democratic rights by the use of force and violence."
All the books by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Nelson Mandela were sold, as were the books on the American labor movement, Black and African studies, the fight for women's equality, and the struggle against fascism.
A Russian youth studying Farsi purchased a copy of the Opening Guns of World War III, recently published in Iran.
Several discussions took place on the Mark Curtis case, the socialist and trade unionist in the United States imprisoned for defending immigrant workers. "He must be a fighter... like us," said one youth who bought a copy of the pamphlet that tells the truth about Curtis's fight.
A few people who visited the Pathfinder stand were openly hostile, Harris noted, including one who said that, "Stalin, Trotsky, they are all communists and murderers." One older man said the Pathfinder stand promoted communist propaganda and that titles by Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X were "Negro propaganda," which amounted to the same thing.
At the bookfair Isacsson was interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation's World Service. The interviewer was surprised to see the titles and asked why Pathfinder representatives traveled to Russia to sell books by communists when people now are only interested in books about science, computers, royal families, romance, and fashion?
Isacsson replied, "We have found lot of interest in Pathfinder books, the because we publish works by revolutionaries and communists in their own words. People, as you can see, stop by our stand, look at the books, and want to discuss their contents. We have sold 60 percent of the books we brought here and will probably be without books before the fair has ended."
All kinds of books and journals are in demand in Moscow. There are large book shops and libraries, and Pathfinder representatives at the fair saw dozens of literature tables on the streets, often with small crowds around trying to browse or purchase items. Permits are not needed by street vendors, including for sales outside the big downtown book shops. Books in general are fairly popular and affordable since printing is subsidized by the government. A hard back book, for example, sells for $1 or $2.