De-Russification of Ukraine’s book publishing sector: record number of Ukrainian-language publications in 2023 – language ombudsman

This year, 2023, marks a significant milestone in de–Russifying the book publishing industry, with the highest ever amount of Ukrainian–language publications put out in the first half of the year.

Taras Kremin, the commissioner for protecting the state language, reported that on Facebook.

What is the problem?

At the beginning of this year, it became apparent that the Ukrainian book should finally and forever replace the Russian one. After all,

• firstly, the availability of quality Ukrainian literature naturally eliminates the need to buy and read Russian and instills a love for the Ukrainian language;
• secondly, the book market will be able to function and develop.

"A few years ago, the Ukrainian book market was not as strong as it is now," Kremin noted.

What is the solution?

According to Taras Kremin, the new Language Law affected the situation with Ukrainian book publishing. In particular, its 26^th article regulates the use of the Russian language in book publishing and prohibits the import of books from Russia and Belarus.

It should be noted that President Volodymyr Zelensky finally signed the law 2309-IX on banning Russian book imports, which was adopted by the parliament a year ago. He claimed that there are "several reservations" about signing this law.

How does it work?

Kremin refers to research data from the Book Chamber, which calculated that since January, book publishers have published 93.3-99.5% of books, brochures, and newspapers in Ukrainian.

"Recovering from the catastrophic destruction caused by the war of Russian cannibals against the people of Ukraine, the book publishing industry is gradually recovering and rapidly becoming Ukrainized.

The ratio of the printed product in state and non-state languages is for the first time with such high indicators," Kremin emphasized.

However, he noted that the situation remains critical due to the lack of Ukrainian-language books in Ukrainian libraries. Today, most of the publications are outdated Soviet publications and books published in the Russian Federation and Belarus, and this is more than 75 million copies.

Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, noted that only the first stage of replacing Russian-language books in libraries would require several years and a budget of UAH 2 billion.

It is necessary to replenish the funds of the libraries located in the east and south of Ukraine, which have been destroyed and looted by the Russians, as well as the collections of books located in the west of the country, which internally displaced individuals highly need.