Zelenskyy signs law to make it impossible to pirate and publish authors from Russia

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the law “On amendments to certain laws of Ukraine regarding restrictions on the import and distribution of publishing products related to the aggressor state, the Republic of Belarus, and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.” The announcement was made on the official website of the Ukrainian Parliament.

“It is prohibited to publish, import, or distribute in Ukraine books containing works by authors who are citizens of the Russian Federation. This ban will not apply to books published in Ukraine before Jan. 1, 2023. Books in other languages may be published and distributed if they are published in the original language. Translated literature must be published and distributed in translations into Ukrainian or any official language of the European Union or the language of the indigenous people of Ukraine,” the explanatory note to the Law states.

In addition to imports of book products from Russia and Belarus, the law, through administrative and economic sanctions, would prevent:

• piracy; 
• publication of Russian authors in Ukraine;
• translation of books into Russian by Ukrainian publishers.

The law does not prohibit the publication of Russian-language books – Ukrainian authors writing in Russian will be freely published in Ukraine. Similarly, the law does not prohibit citizens from purchasing books in Russian for their own use in non-wholesale quantities.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for the law “On amendments to certain laws of Ukraine regarding restrictions on the import and distribution of publishing products related to the aggressor state, the Republic of Belarus, and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.” on June 19, 2022, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not sign or veto it within the statutory deadline, but changed his mind on June 22, the day the Book Arsenal opened.

Throughout the year, Ukrainian publishers, writers and cultural figures, as well as lawyers, called for the law to be signed. Among the signatories are writers Oksana Zabuzhko, Serhiy Zhadan, Halyna Kruk, Andriy Kokotiukha, publishers Mariana Savka (“Old Lion Publishing House”), Ivan Malkovych (A-ba-ba-ha-la-ma-ha), and others.

“This law will strengthen the position of the Ukrainian language and stimulate the development of Ukrainian book publishing and book distribution by effectively counteracting the colonialist policy of russifying Ukraine. From now on, books will be published in the original language, in Ukrainian translations, in the languages of the EU and indigenous peoples of Ukraine,” said Taras Kremin, Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language.

Main photo: Office of the President