Largest Russian bookstore in N. America about to close
Thread poster: GaryG
GaryG
GaryG  Identity Verified
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Mar 9, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63646-2002Mar8.html

 
Tatiana Neroni (X)
Tatiana Neroni (X)
English to Russian
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No wonder Mar 9, 2002

The cheapest (and best) Russian bookstore I know is www.ozon.ru.



It\'s superior in site navigation, categorization of merchandize (they also allow search by author/actor + provide biographies of authors/actors/composers), they carry more than 50,000 items - books, software, videos in Russian, and payment is through Internet by credit card or by money order or check. Prices are the prices of the Russian local ma
... See more
The cheapest (and best) Russian bookstore I know is www.ozon.ru.



It\'s superior in site navigation, categorization of merchandize (they also allow search by author/actor + provide biographies of authors/actors/composers), they carry more than 50,000 items - books, software, videos in Russian, and payment is through Internet by credit card or by money order or check. Prices are the prices of the Russian local market (very low), they\'re unbeatable even together with shipping costs. Delivery takes time, but hey, it\'s not bread for the starving, I can always wait for 2 months to build a superior library, and they are very honest, no screwing up ever. They also keep all the history of your orders, allow you to keep items in your shopping cart for an indefinite time (as a wish-list) and even show you which books you already bought, so that you don\'t repeat buying the same (it is valuable when your library is vast and you cannot possibly memorize all you have).



So - no wonder that competition in North America closes and no tears about that, too.



www.ozon.ru - recommend to everyone...
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Vladimir Dubisskiy
Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 10:14
Member (2001)
English to Russian
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thank you, Gary - Mar 9, 2002

Very interesting stuff, though sad.

I did buy from them (a little).

Thank you, Gary


 
Marcus Malabad
Marcus Malabad  Identity Verified
Canada
German to English
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Gary Mar 9, 2002

Could you drive over there with a truck and haul a couple of thousand books for my collection. Or you can even stand right near the crematorium(?) and catch some precious books before they\'re forever burnt! Be a book saver, Gary!

 
GaryG
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Which thousands Mar 10, 2002

Ah, I wish Marcus! But to choose only a few thousand

out of 1-2 million would be an injustice in itself.



I\'m going over at 10 tomorrow morning when they open

and hopefully traffic will be lighter than the mob I encountered today.



I saw things today like Armenian encylopedias, various literary works, modern literature, and volumes of music.



Indeed, over the years the dictionaries switched from Russian-English (
... See more
Ah, I wish Marcus! But to choose only a few thousand

out of 1-2 million would be an injustice in itself.



I\'m going over at 10 tomorrow morning when they open

and hopefully traffic will be lighter than the mob I encountered today.



I saw things today like Armenian encylopedias, various literary works, modern literature, and volumes of music.



Indeed, over the years the dictionaries switched from Russian-English (now that the spetssluzhby were no longer buying in volume) to English-Russian, for newly-arrived immigrants.
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GaryG
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Update on the Kamkin situation Mar 10, 2002

It seems there is a little hope that the books will be saved,

if not the business.



I will keep you all posted



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2195-2002Mar9.html


 
Araksia Sarkisian
Araksia Sarkisian  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 17:14
Armenian to Polish
+ ...
Books on fire???????!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mar 10, 2002

Да-а, история любит повторяться...В средневековье тоже сжигали...правда, мотивировка была другая. Не могу понять одного: почему нельзя раздать библиотекам?

 
GaryG
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Saving Kamkins Mar 10, 2002

I talked to the owner this morning and he

said he\'d had some (serious) inquiries, including

from the Library of Congress, from James Billington

himself who, as most of you know, is a Russian specialist.



One problem in moving such a mass of books is

that many of them are not sellable. Today I saw the

collected works of Chernenko and various rare dictionaries

like Persian-Russian for which there is little market.... See more
I talked to the owner this morning and he

said he\'d had some (serious) inquiries, including

from the Library of Congress, from James Billington

himself who, as most of you know, is a Russian specialist.



One problem in moving such a mass of books is

that many of them are not sellable. Today I saw the

collected works of Chernenko and various rare dictionaries

like Persian-Russian for which there is little market.



As the original news story said, the Soviets forced

Kamkin to accept stuff that wouldn\'t sell even in the Soyuz.
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GaryG
GaryG  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:14
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+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Vremennaya peredyshka Mar 11, 2002

//Correction: Morella\'s a Republican//



В Вашингтоне собираются сжечь 2 млн. русских книг

11.03.2002 13:02 | NTVRU.com



Сожжение 2 млн. русских книг в Вашингтоне приостановлено благодаря вмешательству члена конгресса США от штата

Мэриленд, демократки Констанцы Мореллы. �
... See more
//Correction: Morella\'s a Republican//



В Вашингтоне собираются сжечь 2 млн. русских книг

11.03.2002 13:02 | NTVRU.com



Сожжение 2 млн. русских книг в Вашингтоне приостановлено благодаря вмешательству члена конгресса США от штата

Мэриленд, демократки Констанцы Мореллы. Уничтожение планировалось на понедельник - в печь мусоросжигательного

завода должны были отправиться книги из обанкротившегося магазина русской литературы, в том числе сочинения Толстого,

Пушкина, Достоевского и других классиков русской литературы.



Как передает РИА \"Новости\", Морелла сообщила журналистам, что ей удалось провести переговоры с шерифом графства

Монтгомери Раймондом Кайтом о том, чтобы книги из расположенного на территории графства магазина-банкрота были

временно размещены на транзитном складе полиции. Решение шерифа позволило отменить сожжение книг, но разрешение на

их временное хранение дано лишь на несколько суток, в течение которых Констанца Морелла будет пытаться найти способ

сохранить книги.



Обанкротившийся \"Магазин Виктора Камкина\" являлся крупнейшим магазином литературы на русском языке в районе

Вашингтона. Он просуществовал в течение 50 лет. В связи с падением интереса к русским источникам в США, продажи в

магазине резко упали, и в настоящее время он задолжал владельцам арендуемых им помещений более 200 тыс. долларов. В

декабре в отношении \"Магазина Виктора Камкина\" была возбуждена процедура банкротства.



Бывший офицер царской армии Виктор Камкин после революции 1917 года эмигрировал сначала в Китай, откуда перебрался

в США, где открыл свое дело, начав его с продажи нескольких книг на русском языке. В годы \"холодной войны\" Камкин

заключил соглашения с рядом советских государственных организаций, таких как \"Международная книга\", которые

позволили ему импортировать в США в больших объемах литературу и периодику, издававшуюся в СССР и пользовавшуюся

спросом в эмигрантских кругах и среди американских экспертов-советологов и специалистов по российскому культурному

наследию.



По идеологическим причинам поставки в магазин Камкина из СССР осуществлялись зачастую на субсидированной основе,

что позволяло ему продавать книги по невысоким ценам и иметь необходимую прибыль. После распада Советского Союза

поставки перешли на коммерческую основу, что в сочетании с падением спроса на такую литературу привело к убыткам и в

итоге банкротству фирмы, возглавляемой после смерти Камкина в течение последних лет его внучатым племянником Игорем

Калагеорги.



После разразившегося в минувшую пятницу скандала в связи с публикацией в прессе о планах по сожжению русских книг,

владеющая помещениями магазина американская компания \"Рандольф билдингс\" сообщила, что пыталась вступить с

Калагеорги в переговоры о передаче книг ей для последующего размещения в какой-нибудь из библиотек. Как сообщил

журналистам глава \"Рандольф билдингс\" Ален Кронштадт, нынешний владелец \"Магазина Виктора Камкина\" от переговоров

отказался. При этом Кронштадт признал, что его попытки договориться с какой-либо из библиотек пока тоже не привели к

успеху.



В субботу и воскресенье пред окончательным закрытием в магазине русской книги была объявлена последняя распродажа,

на которую после публикаций в прессе хлынули сотни людей. Многие из них были возмущены перспективами уничтожения

русской классики в печах мусоросжигательного завода. В течение одной только субботы продажи в магазине подпрыгнули

до 14 тыс. долларов - в 5 раз больше обычной ежедневной выручки, но, по словам владельцев, неожиданный интерес к их

товару изменить уже ничего не может, и с сегодняшнего дня \"Магазин Виктора Камкина\" под Вашингтоном будет навсегда

закрыт. Судьба его книг все еще остается неясной и, если решение не будет найдено, в ближайшие дни русские книги

придется убирать и с временной площадки, откуда в таком случае им будет дорога только одна - в американскую печь.
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GaryG
GaryG  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:14
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TOPIC STARTER
Versiya polozheniya gazety Washington Post Mar 12, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10750-2002Mar11.html

 
Dmitri Prokofiev
Dmitri Prokofiev  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 17:14
English to Russian
+ ...
Еще одна точка зрения на положение дел: Mar 14, 2002

http://www.grani.ru/book_sales/articles/kamkin/

 
Araksia Sarkisian
Araksia Sarkisian  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 17:14
Armenian to Polish
+ ...
Thank you Gary for this HOT issue! Mar 14, 2002

You know, I don\'t care about the business relations between the parties involved there in this scandal, but I do care about the cultural heritage of the people, nation, I do care about the young generation, who knows about burning the books in the Middle Ages and during the Nazi power...



Ray Bradbery\'s \"Fahrenheit 451\" is still valid...Isn\'t it horrific?



I appreciate your approach to this matter and I hope, that maybe our voices will be heard in Was
... See more
You know, I don\'t care about the business relations between the parties involved there in this scandal, but I do care about the cultural heritage of the people, nation, I do care about the young generation, who knows about burning the books in the Middle Ages and during the Nazi power...



Ray Bradbery\'s \"Fahrenheit 451\" is still valid...Isn\'t it horrific?



I appreciate your approach to this matter and I hope, that maybe our voices will be heard in Washington D.C., although I have some doubts about that poor sheriff, if he ever will know about the reaction to his \"strange\" decision worldwide...
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GaryG
GaryG  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:14
English
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TOPIC STARTER
Message on Kamkin's webpage Mar 20, 2002

Dear Friends,



Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and thoughts.



Our Rockville location is currently closed to the public because we are in the process of moving to a different location. We expect to re-open to the public sometime towards the end of April 2002 and we will let everyone know. In t
... See more
Dear Friends,



Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and thoughts.



Our Rockville location is currently closed to the public because we are in the process of moving to a different location. We expect to re-open to the public sometime towards the end of April 2002 and we will let everyone know. In the mean time we are actively accepting orders by phone. Just give us a call....



Because our computer system and files are being moved, all orders require a credit card payment (or a check/money order in advance). Any payments for past orders can be sent to our usual address.



Thank you, again, for your support and patronage,



Igor Kalageorgi

Victor Kamkin, Inc.

P.O. Box 590

Rockville, MD 20848-0590

USA

(301) 881-5973

email: [email protected]
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Yngve Roennike
Yngve Roennike
Local time: 11:14
Swedish to English
+ ...
Customer service Mar 21, 2002

Although the above is sad, of course, the memory that sticks with me, is that they were not always the gentlest of people to deal with, shall we say. Phones slamming down when you tried to make friendly inquiries, etc. On the other hand, some of the folks there seemed genuinely helpful. Could it be the casualty also of a culture gap?

 
GaryG
GaryG  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:14
English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Update on Kamkin's Mar 30, 2002

Library of Congress Saves 50,000 Books



The Library of Congress has taken an estimated 50,000 books from Victor Kamkin Inc., the Rockville bookstore that

became well known during the Cold War for its 2 million titles on various aspects of Russian life.



The Kamkin collection was almost destroyed after the store\'s owner fell behind on his rent. It was to be evicted this

month from its warehouse on Boiling Brook Parkway. But local polit
... See more
Library of Congress Saves 50,000 Books



The Library of Congress has taken an estimated 50,000 books from Victor Kamkin Inc., the Rockville bookstore that

became well known during the Cold War for its 2 million titles on various aspects of Russian life.



The Kamkin collection was almost destroyed after the store\'s owner fell behind on his rent. It was to be evicted this

month from its warehouse on Boiling Brook Parkway. But local politicians and the Library of Congress stepped in to get

the store a few weeks\' reprieve so that some of the books could be donated to library collections.



Igor Kalageorgi, the great nephew of Victor Kamkin, who founded the store more than 50 years ago, said he will open

another store in a warehouse in the 200 block of Gerard Street in Gaithersburg. He said that he expects the store to open

at the end of April and that he plans to do mostly mail-order and Internet sales.



Eventually, he said, he would like to open a small retail store in downtown Washington.



Helen Dalrymple, a spokeswoman at the Library of Congress, said librarians there will go through the books that they

pulled from the warehouse and take some for their collection and offer the rest to other libraries.
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Largest Russian bookstore in N. America about to close


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