> Russians are essentially the only truly literate people left. The vast majority of Russians read regularly, more than anywhere else in the world.

Not really.

According to Nielsen, 59% of Russians read at least weekly. High, but not the highest in the world, and behind China:

https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/commentary/2017/maj...

Several European countries have a very strong reading rates, some exceeding 70% of adults reading books annually:

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/d...