The number of books published in Russian in Ukraine has decreased by almost 60%

The number of new Russian-language books in Ukraine has significantly decreased since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. This is stated in the monitoring made by Detector Media according to the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine for the second half of 2022.

According to the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, as of December 15, 7103 units of books and brochures with a total circulation of 6 million 172 thousand copies were published in Ukraine. Among them, 5802 publications with a circulation of 5 million 523 thousand copies are in Ukrainian, and 624 publications with a circulation of 399 thousand copies are in Russian. Compared to 2021, the number of Russian-language books published this year decreased by 59.3%, and print circulation fell by 68.4%.

In addition, as of February 24, 2022, more than 22 thousand entries were removed from the register of Russian publishing products allowed for import and distribution in Ukraine and from the unified state information portal “Single Window for International Trade”.

At the same time, books legally imported to Ukraine before the war are not banned for distribution. The last permits to import books from Russia were issued on February 22.

In March 2022, the State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting suspended the issuance and terminated the validity of permits for the import of publishing products from the aggressor state’s territory.

As reported, on June 19, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to ban Russian publishing products, as well as the import and distribution of books from russia, the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and Belarus. Ukrainian publishers and cultural figures and writers called on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign this law.

Read also: 9 months of invasion: how Ukrainian publishers work in times of war

Photo: vikna.tv