Drofa: A Pillar of Educational Publishing in Russia

Drofa is considered one of the largest and most important publishing houses specializing in educational books and school textbooks in Russia. Since the 1990s, it has played a pivotal role in the development of Russian educational content and has directly contributed to shaping generations of students through state-approved curricula.

Foundation and Strategic Transformation

Drofa was founded in 1990, and in its early years it was not specialized in education, publishing a wide range of works including novels and popular entertainment books.
However, in 1994, the company made a decisive strategic decision to shift entirely toward educational publishing—a move that fundamentally changed its direction and placed it at the heart of Russia’s educational system.

Publishing Fields

Drofa focuses on publishing:

School textbooks for all levels (primary, middle, and secondary)
Preschool curricula
Activity and exercise books
Teachers’ guides
Methodological and pedagogical materials
Educational maps and visual teaching aids
Educational children’s books

Today, hundreds of its titles are included in the official lists of state-approved school textbooks in Russia.

Position in the Education Market

Within a relatively short period, Drofa became one of the main pillars of the educational publishing market in Russia, and a leading competitor to other major educational publishers. It is widely regarded as a publishing house that combines:

Academic rigor
Modern design and production
Continuous content development
Alignment with official educational policies

Merger with a Major Publishing Group

In 2014, Drofa became part of a large Russian publishing group that includes numerous literary and educational publishing houses. This merger enabled the company to achieve:

Wider distribution
Greater production capacity
Stronger financial and technical support

while maintaining its specialized identity in educational publishing.

Expansion into Digital and Interactive Publishing

Drofa has not limited itself to traditional print publishing. It has expanded its activities to include:

Digital educational materials
Online educational platforms
School-focused applications
Interactive media designed for both students and teachers

All of this reflects its commitment to keeping pace with global developments in digital education.

Cultural and Educational Impact

Drofa’s influence extends beyond the commercial sphere. Its broader impact includes:

Contributing to the educational awareness of new generations
Supporting teachers with modern and advanced teaching resources
Helping unify educational standards across many Russian regions
Developing visual and pedagogical classroom content

Conclusion

Drofa represents a clear model of a publishing house that successfully transformed from general publishing into a nationally influential educational industry. Through its strong focus on curricula, continuous modernization of educational tools, and engagement with digital learning, it has become one of the central pillars of school education in Russia and a key name in discussions of educational publishing in Eastern Europe.