Romance novel publisher Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. furthered its international expansion strategy Monday by signing a pact with a Russian publisher.

The Torstar Corp. subsidiary signed a licensing agreement with Izdatelstvo Centrepolygraph, one of the largest book publishers in Russia, to produce 170 Russian-language books per year, most of which will come under the Harlequin brand.

"Russian readers are enthusiastic Harlequin readers and we're very excited to meet the country's growing appetite for women's fiction," Harlequin CEO Donna Hayes said.

Already this year, the international publisher of books for women has opened an office in Turkey and acquired full ownership of their German operation.

In 2008, the publisher of 110 books per month launched an office in Mumbai, India, to print and distribute books locally. In the past 18 months, Harlequin has also signed new licensing deals in Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand.

Harlequin currently has licensees in 15 countries and has titles issued in 32 languages worldwide.