Yulia Svyrydenko: The Ukrainian book market has taken shape and continues to grow

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko visited the Book Arsenal and emphasized that the Ukrainian book market already exists and continues to grow.

Yulia Svyrydenko noted that today marks the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Ems Decree, which aimed to abolish not only the Ukrainian language but the entire Ukrainian nation.

“Since then, with very few exceptions, Ukrainian books have never dominated over russian ones in Ukraine. I clearly remember when Ukrainian books were kept on separate shelves in Ukrainian bookstores. Today, hundreds of new books are published every month—both by Ukrainian authors and the best foreign ones,” noted Yulia Svyrydenko.

According to her, an important factor in the market’s emergence is the ongoing discussions between publishers and distributors, as well as between e-commerce platforms and bookstores.

“And most importantly: in these discussions, the question of which language to publish in no longer arises. For me, this is a matter of principle,” the Head of Government emphasized.

The Prime Minister also noted that the Government is making significant efforts to ensure this market continues to grow. In particular, all market participants agree that the National Cashback program has become a key factor in supporting this emerging market and Ukrainians who want to read.

During her visit to the festival, Yulia Svyrydenko added to her personal library with contemporary Ukrainian fiction and nonfiction, including Pavlo Belyansky’s collection of short stories "Please, Don’t Be Afraid" about the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, Artem Zakharchenko’s "Narratives of Mass Destruction: Tactics and Strategies of Information Warfare” by Artem Zakharchenko, and “Memoirs” by Nadiya Surovtseva. She also bought several children’s books for her daughter.

“Thank you to everyone who writes, who reads, and who sells Ukrainian books,” concluded the Prime Minister of Ukraine.