Although as yet there are no digital business models in Russia that can entirely supplant the traditional system, there are forces that could accelerate the migration of the industry:

1. Sooner or later the economic crisis that has plagued the book sector since 2008 will lead publishers to reduce print runs and seek new and more efficient forms of production and marketing, such as print on demand and the many variants of electronic distribution. Thus, digital restructuring will not only be a good way of providing equal access for all inhabitants, it will also be an essential requirement for reducing costs.
2. Russian readers’ thirst for digital content, which is demonstrated by the boom in e-readers and the increase in piracy, may result in new modes of creation, designed specifically for digital mediums.[1]
3. There may be heated legislative debates, such as those that have already taken place on topics including reprography, taxes on e-books and access to virtual libraries.[2]
4. The most influential factor in the future may perhaps be the group of hardware companies which, along with mobile phone operators, have an enormous market volume domestically (within Russia) and abroad (in other countries of Asia, particularly the former Soviet republics), which guarantees them an extraordinary capacity for investment and manoeuvre.