Sales of Albert Camus's novel *The Plague* have risen by 86% in Russia

In Russia, sales of Albert Camus’s novel *The Plague* rose by 86% over the past week compared to the same period in 2025. The surge in interest in the book came amid reports of a plague outbreak in the Irkutsk region.

The highest demand for the book was recorded in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as in the Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, and Irkutsk regions and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The 1947 novel tells the story of the fight against an epidemic in an infected city, where local authorities tried to hide the truth from residents.

The novel *The Plague* (1947) is an eyewitness account by a survivor of the epidemic: the narrative is told from the perspective of Dr. Bernard Rieux, who led the anti-plague efforts in the infected city of Oran, where a plague epidemic had broken out. But the city’s leaders, by concealing the truth, make all residents hostages to a terrible tragedy. 

This is reported by Russian media.

As a reminder, a plague outbreak has occurred in Russia, and there has already been a first fatality.

In Russia, nearly 200 people have been hospitalized after coming into contact with a woman who died of pneumonic plague.

Prior to this, the death of a woman from the plague was confirmed in Buryatia.