Maxim Kryutchenko, founder of the St. Petersburg publishing house ABC, has died.

Maxim Kryutchenko, the founder of the St. Petersburg publishing house ABC, has died at the age of 56. The death of the entrepreneur was announced on June 17 by the writer Anna Zaparenko, known under the pseudonym Anya Amasova.

"Last night, at the age of 56, the legendary publisher Maxim Ivanovich Kryutchenko, the founder of ABC, the youngest and most beautiful "Best Publisher of the Year" of the 90s, the most charismatic and charming businessman died - incredibly smart, talented, gambling, risky, artistic, full of energy, irony and reckless courage. <...>> Somehow, I still can't believe it, this news doesn't fit in at all with what I know about this man," she wrote on the VKontakte social network.

Over the years, Kryutchenko led the publishing houses North-West and Aquarelle, and also became the owner of the Lenizdat brand. After the sale of ABC, he was engaged in a new publishing project. According to Zaparenko, Kryutchenko stood out in the market for his non-standard approach to negotiations, especially when buying rights to foreign book series.

The farewell to the publisher will take place on Saturday, June 21.