Ukraine considers quota for Russian books

Ukraine may ramp up its cultural sanctions against Russia by introducing a licence and a quota for Russian books, according to the country’s deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Sych.

Sych told Interfax news agency: “We will introduce licensing for Russian books and quotas on foreign books, depending on how many percent of the market is taken up by Ukrainian books. This applies not only to Russian books, but imported books as well.”

Sych claimed that only 20% of books sold in bookshops were from Ukraine, with the rest imported from countries such as Russia. He added that Russian books were not only “third rate” but also aimed at “destabilising the situation in Ukraine”.

Last week, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture announced the ban of two Russian films, which were accused of twisting historical facts in favour of Russia and displaying “contempt” for Ukraine and its people.

Attempts to boost the sale of domestic books were also made prior to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. In March 2013, the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting allocated 37.5 million hryvnia ($3.1m) to “Ukrainian Book”, a project which saw a number of local literary classics targeted to a younger audience. This June, Ukrainian legislators proposed a bill to exempt publishers and distributors of Ukrainian literature from income tax.

Russia’s federal publishing agency, Rospechat, has said it will not revise its publishing legislation despite looming quotas and licensing for Russian books. A spokesperson from the Rospechat press office said: “We have no licensing for publishing and printing at all. There are no barriers for foreign book imports and we have no plans to revise the rules.”