The President is urged to sign the law on the protection of cultural space

The President is urged to sign the law on the protection of cultural space



Ukrainian writers and publishers call on President Zelenskyi to sign the law on the protection of cultural space, which has been under his signature for almost a year. A petition with such a demand appeared on the President’s website a few days ago and has already received more than half of the required 25,000 votes. “We must protect the Ukrainian cultural space from the ‘Russian world’,” wrote the authors of the petition. “Publishing products of the aggressor is also an occupation,” the appeal reads. It is about the signing of Law 2309-IX, which was developed together with representatives of the public, publishers, book distributors , the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the State Committee for Television and Radio, the Institute of Books and deputies. The Verkhovna Rada adopted it on June 19, 2022 with 306 votes and handed it over to the President for signature. What the signing of the Law changes: prohibits the import and distribution of publishing products from Russia and Belarus; stopping the distribution of already imported books from Russia; provides for the publication of books in Ukraine in the original language or translated into Ukrainian, languages ​​of the EU or indigenous peoples of Ukraine; the import of Russian-language books from other countries into Ukraine will require a separate permit; blocks the possibility of importing publications with anti-Ukrainian content. The petition has already been supported, in particular, Oksana Zabuzhko, Maryana Savka, Andriy Kurkov, Tamara Gorikha Zernya, Vakhtang Kipiani, Irma Vitovska, Volodymyr Vyatrovych, Valery Pekar, Anton Martynov and others. Commenting on this petition to UP.Zhyttya, the editor-in-chief of the Chitomo book publishing media, Oksana Khmelivska, noted that the non-signing of this Law raises many questions in the literary community. According to her information, the import of Russian books continues: “Otherwise, what are sold by such online bookstores as “Grenka”, “LiderBooks”, “Lavka Babuyn”, “Bookovka”, “Knyzhkova Lavka”, “GoodBooks”, “Bizlit”, “Knygosklad” and “Book House”? Last week, “Chitomo” journalists visited the “Bukva” bookstore, where on the shelves they found a lot of Russian books published in 2022. And this contrasts with the owner’s patriotic statements about ending the trade in Russian books, which was published last year year.” The bookshelf of the “Bukva” bookstore, May, 2023. Photo provided by “Chitomo”. However, the book expert says, this law, which has not yet been signed, is already causing debate: “This law could allow fines to be levied on violators. But what kind of fine – in the amount of two minimum wages for each first case of such distribution? Or in the amount of ten minimum wages for each subsequent one? Will a fine of 14,000 hryvnias scare anyone if caught red-handed?” Frontispieces of books from the shelf of the Bukva bookstore, Kyiv, May 2023. Photo courtesy of Chitomo. The law prevents translations into Russian, but it may encourage a Russian-speaking reader to look for pirated content or illegally imported Russian books: “Ukrainian publishers will not be able to publish, for example, Stephen King in Russian. Although there is a demand for it in Ukraine, a large part of the population remains Russian-speaking,” says Oksana Khmelivska. A shelf in the Bukva bookstore, Kyiv, May 2023. Photo courtesy of Chitomo. Oksana Khmelivska is convinced that, in any case, this Law would make it impossible for Russian authors to be published in Ukraine by publishing houses of Russian origin, which still exist: “The most recent example is the publishing house “Shkola”, which last week “delighted” readers with another novelty – “Oceania Advaita” ” by the Russian author Nataliya Poddubnaya. And recently they also extradited the famous Russian tourer of the occupied territories of Ukraine, Andrey Usachyov. Signing the law would make such double standards impossible.” Read UP. Culture in Telegram



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