Ukraine bans import of Russian books

Ukraine has banned all imports of books from Russia until 1 April, including books for personal use.

“From 1 January to 1 April [book imports] are banned until the relevant regulations and verification mechanism have been developed,” the head of the Ukrainian Association of Publishers and Booksellers, Alexander Afonin, told Ukrainian newspaper Vesti.

According to Mr Afonin, bookshops will be allowed to continue selling books imported from Russia last year.

This development comes after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law on 30 December 2016 restricting imports of “foreign products with anti-Ukrainian content”.

Last April, Mr Poroshenko approved a bill banning all Russian films produced or shown for the first time from 1 January 2014, with the ban extending to Russian films seen as popularising law enforcement agencies and the military, regardless of release date.

Source: Vesti (in Russian)