Renowned Ukrainian publisher, veteran, and cultural patron Vladyslav Kyrychenko passes away

On the morning of January 20, 2026, Vladyslav Kyrychenko—founder of numerous cultural projects and festivals, and one of the leading figures in Ukrainian nonfiction publishing—passed away at the age of 57 after a long and severe battle with cancer.

Kyrychenko was a public intellectual, entrepreneur, patron of the arts, founder of the Nash Format publishing house, and head of the Reformation NGO. All of his initiatives shared a single goal: to help shape a modern Ukrainian nation.

Ivan Malkovych, publisher and co-founder of the Ababahalamaha Publishing House, wrote:

“Over the past two and a half years, Vladyslav Kyrychenko never once complained about his health, although after nearly 40 rounds of chemotherapy, this would have been entirely understandable. Instead, until the very end, he spoke about the work he still needed to do. An uncompromising, powerful visionary, he showed how effective the Ukrainian strength of the Donetsk region can be.”

Born in the Donetsk region, Kyrychenko believed deeply  in Ukrainian culture. He founded a publishing house that released books exclusively in Ukrainian, established Ukrainian-only bookstores and distribution networks, and was among the first to publish audiobooks in Ukrainian. At a time when around 75% of the Ukrainian book market was dominated by Russian publishers, this was a unique and principled stance.

Anton Martynov—publisher, founder of Laboratoria Publishing House, military officer, and former colleague at Nash Format—wrote in a post addressed to Kyrychenko on the day of his death:

“The Donbas character shaped your worldview. It could be felt in the way you communicated. You respected the enemy’s strength, but you also called the enemy an enemy long before it became mainstream.”

Since 2006, Nash Format has published more than 300 translations of landmark works, including books by Nobel Prize laureates and bestsellers from The New York Times and The Economist. Among the authors published are Francis Fukuyama, Niall Ferguson, Daron Acemoglu, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Fareed Zakaria, Daniel Kahneman, and others. Nash Format also actively published Ukrainian authors and later expanded into fiction and poetry. Kyrychenko supported Ukrainian artists and was the publisher of Maksym Kryvtsov’s first—and only—published book.

In 2023, Kyrychenko founded KyivBookFest, which quickly became a successful literary festival.

One of his major initiatives, the Reformation NGO, donated more than 50,000 copies of worldview and educational literature to the Ukrainian military starting in 2020, and printed over 60,000 statutes and manuals for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Kyrychenko was also a co-founder of “The Army Reads”, an educational charitable initiative of Reformation NGO and Nash Format. The project aims to replenish libraries in Ukrainian military units with relevant, high-quality, contemporary literature and to promote reading as a leisure activity within the Armed Forces. Nash Format also runs the “Sergeant’s Library” project, which supplies military educational institutions with up-to-date literature.

Volodymyr Viatrovych, historian and bestselling author, wrote:

“A publisher, a veteran, a man who did so much to make Ukrainian books possible. Kyrychenko founded Nash Format, a publishing house that became a phenomenon in the development of Ukrainian publishing. He was among the pioneers of Ukrainian audiobooks. During the Revolution of Dignity, his support, organizational skills, and resources were invaluable. From the first days of the full-scale invasion—ready before anyone else, as always—he joined the defense forces. He was awarded the Iron Cross by Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

“Through the Reformation NGO and Nash Format, thousands upon thousands of books—statutes, manuals, methodological and contemporary publications—were distributed free of charge to the army. He did this to provide the military with intellectual weapons. Born on Ukrainian land in Donetsk, he was strong and genuine. It is people like him who change the world.”

“‘Nash Format means being genuine,’ he used to say,” recalled Anastasiia Nikitina, Executive Director of Nash Format. “He did not tolerate lies, because lies were not our format. For him, there was nothing in between—everything was either black or white, leading to either deep faith or deep disappointment. Kyrychenko was, without exaggeration, an outstanding reformer of our time, never tired of changing, reforming, and persistently doing great things, even in the face of serious illness. His generosity, belief in people, and big dreams for the future of education, the army, and the country made Nash Format much more than just a publishing house for all of us.”

Marjana Savka—publisher, poet, and co-founder of the Old Lion Publishing House—shared:

“He did not give up on life. Did Kyrychenko ever give up on anyone or anything? Perhaps he simply chose to move on to something else. He called me on Christmas, and we sang carols together over the phone. Yes, we knew that you, Vlad, were saying goodbye to all of us. Yet we still believed you would come up with something new—some innovative move in this difficult struggle. Thank you for being with us.”

Poet and activist Serhiy Zhadan recalled their first meeting:

“Vlad and I had our first argument about twenty years ago. We met and immediately started arguing. We were both from the East, and once we began talking about it, the conversation took off. I idealized our fellow countrymen, while Kyrychenko tended to be more critical. The argument wasn’t aggressive—it was friendly, ironic. There were emotions, but also an understanding that we were speaking about a common cause. Our format.

“Today, when Kyrychenko is gone, I want to stress once again how important personalities are for our Ukrainian cause. Of course, the state is built on institutions. But when institutions are young and fragile, what matter most are Ukrainians by vocation—those who fulfill their life’s work, often in defiance of circumstances.

“We were lucky to have Kyrychenko in our lives. Even a difficult character, in this case, was nation-building.”

Nash Format Publishing continues its work.

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Main image: Artem Halkin/Sensor media

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn