Viktor Kamkin
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Bookstore) |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Founder | Victor Kamkin and Elena Kamkina |
| Defunct | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Rockville, Maryland , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Books, magazines, vinyl records, maps (primarily Soviet publications) |
The Victor Kamkin Bookstore was a specialty retail establishment primarily located in Rockville, Maryland, with an additional smaller outlet in New York City. It focused on offering publications originating from the Soviet Union. Established in 1953 by Victor Kamkin and his spouse Elena Kamkina, the bookstore remained operational throughout the entirety of the Cold War period.
Founding
The bookstore was launched by Viktor Petrovich Kamkin (1902–1974), who was born in St. Petersburg as the son of a Russian financial professional, along with his wife Elena Andreevna Kamkina. Its creation was deeply influenced by Kamkin’s considerable experience in Russian-language publishing.
Following his emigration to Harbin, China in 1923 after the Russian Civil War, Kamkin completed his studies at a Russian law school in 1928. His entry into publishing began in Shanghai in 1929 when he became a partner in V.P. Kamkin and A.P. Malyk, producing approximately 26 publications. In 1937, he inaugurated the Russian bookstore "Znanie" located in Tianjin. During World War II, Kamkin was affiliated with the Italian-American publisher "Chili Press" and subsequently served as a translator and technical assistant for the American military newspaper North China Marine, moving with it to Qingdao in 1948.
In 1952, Kamkin relocated to the United States, settling near Washington, DC. The following year, he established the Victor Kamkin Bookstore specializing in Russian-language literature. Taking advantage of minimal competition, Kamkin secured an exclusive contract with the Soviet government to import books and periodicals from the USSR. This agreement established the bookstore as a premier U.S. source for Russian literary works as well as political and economic materials valuable to researchers focused on Russian history and Soviet studies.
Expansion
Kamkin broadened his business by launching a second branch at 149 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. In 1983, he acquired the Four Continent Book Corporation from Eda Glaser, a prominent distributor of Russian books in New York City. By 1990, this store maintained an inventory estimated at around one million items including books, magazines, vinyl records, and maps.
Closure
By 2002, diminishing sales coupled with growing competition and escalating expenses indicated the business was nearing its conclusion. With an inventory of roughly two million unsold items, the bookstore garnered considerable media coverage and attracted thousands of visitors. Thanks to intervention by Congressional Representative Connie Morella and Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, about 60,000 volumes were saved from destruction. Despite this temporary rescue effort, hundreds of thousands of books were eventually discarded during forced liquidation in 2006, although some titles were absorbed by other retailers specializing in Russian-language publications.
Further reading
- Sue Baker, "The Russians Are Coming... That Is, to See Kamkin's Books," Washington Post, Feb 3, 1986, Washington Business p. 3.
- Dana Hedgpeth, "Customers Swarm Bookstore's Stacks; Evicted Owner, Sheriff Look for Way To Save Russian-Language Inventory," Washington Post, March 10, 2002.
- Harold M. Leich, "The Victor Kamkin Bookstore and the Library of Congress: 2002 and 2006 Events," Slavic and East European Information Resources, vol. 8, no. 1 (2007), pp. 25–32.
- L. Peat O'Neil, "Moscow on the Potomac," Washington Post, Sept. 25, 1987; p. WK50.
- Sue Anne Pressley, "Glasnost Proves Good for the Book Business," Washington Post, Feb. 15, 1990.
- Dana Priest, "A Bookseller With a Select Clientele," Washington Post, Dec. 26, 1984; p. C1.
- Milton Viorst, "Owner of D.C Book Shop Sells Soviet Volumes Without Politics," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, Aug. 10, 1958; p. A7.
- "LC Rescues 60,000 Books," American Libraries, vol. 33, no. 5 (May 2002), p. 30. In JSTOR.