Ukraine’s Parliament passed two bills that will restrict Russian music and books. If President Volodymyr Zelensky signs the legislation, it will be a significant step forward in Kiev’s attempt to purge the Russian culture.
The first bill will place heavy restrictions on any author who held Russian citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The law will ban the printing of books by Russian citizens, forbid importing the commercial import of any book printed in Russia, Belarus, or "occupied Ukrainian territory," and requires special permission to import any book in Russian.
In the future, books in Ukraine can only be published in Ukrainian and official European Union languages. Russian is not one of the EU’s official 24 languages. Books in other languages can only be printed in the original language or translated into one of the 25 allowable languages.
The law provides an exemption for Russian authors who renounce their Russian passports and obtain Ukrainian citizenship. The bills make up the latest steps in the process of "derussification."
The second law bars the playing of any Russian music on media or on public transportation. The legislation also increases quotas for Ukrainian language music and speech on television and radio.
Indications are Zelensky will sign the bills into law. Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko – a member of Zelensky’s Servent of the People party – welcomed the bills. “The laws are designed to help Ukrainian authors share quality content with the widest possible audience, which after the Russian invasion do not accept any Russian creative product on a physical level,” he said.
The bills are not Kiev’s first effort to stifle the Russian culture in Ukraine. After the 2014 coup in Ukraine, the US-backed government passed several restrictions on the Russian language. In 2018, a movie starring Zelensky – Love in the Big City 2 – was banned because it was produced in Russian.
As president, Zelensky has advanced the culture war. After the Russian invasion, Zelensky removed members of parliament from parties that were deemed “pro-Russian.” He also nationalized Ukraine’s media, giving him further control over the narrative in Ukraine.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
Finally, Ukrainian nationalism exposes its true face to the World. This is cultural genocide of Russian-speaking people and more than 1/3 of Ukraine’s population.
If there needed to be a conclusive justification for Russia’s intervention, we have got it now. Nobody should have to live under such a genocidal and racist regime.
Yes, book-burning a classic Gestapo. It’s also remarkably stupid.
Ukraine is getting more like IsraHell every day…
Next thing from your favourite Nazi regime:
“Ukraine Parliament Passes New Laws Seeking To put the ukraine closer to the US. Preferably somewhere near the state of Florida.”
Poland and the other Baltic prostitutes tried all of that, they even demolished monuments to their liberators in WW2, burned Russian books, rewrote and revisioned history and allowed Nazi parades but to no avail. They’re stuck where they are and Russia remain their mighty neighbor.
And why? What is with Poland, Baltic states, Western Ukraine, and most other Esst European countries? Where is the hate coming from? Something Russia has done?
There is no hate greater than hate of those we have harmed. The wholle history of Russa since Teutonic Knights bestowed Catholicism by theit unique form of love, the remaining resisting cultures suffered. Protestantism changed little, as “Western” religions soon found a common cause against the remnants of the old Chriistianity. This religious righteousness was fortified by British obsession with challenges to their power. Napoleon with his zealotism and dslise of “backwardnes” advanced the cause. Russia’s once powerful ties with Norway before and during Viking era, was obstacle to Sweden’s rise, and Seeden’s rise, Going back and forth in history — fear of a large empire, compounded by greed for its riches, desire to dominate and finally crush what was left of the pre-Catholic and pre-Anglican, pre-protestant Christianity, shaped European rulers.
But one ruler stands above others. Hitler. Coming to power on the wings of Catholic charities that fed the poor during German economic collapse, he took over with the help of big business. Destroyed any movement that sought betterment of workers. It was easy to do that. With the help of Western, especially British and American business — he rebuilt the manufacturing especially anything that advances military. Workers movements evaporated as jobs and German patriotism became heady antidote to Communism.
And here you had it. British risked a great deal by supporting Hitler’s rise, hoping for twin success — destruction of Communist movementt and the expectations that Germany was destined
to fight Russia — so that in the end, Britain would benefit from both being weakened by merciless
attrition. Hitler created the concept of European Union, and attracted all Catholic states and Chatolic minorities — getting support to go on Russia. The rest is clear. Russia beat Hitler in Eastern Europe. Fear and hatred are intertwined. Fearing retribution for ther crimes against Russian population those countries committed as part of Hitler’s invasion — the hatred of victor became deep seated.
During Cold War, Western allies and Vatican poored resources into building “resistance” to Soviet Union. The ideology of “anticommunism” was passionately embraced by communities deeply bitter over Hiter’s loss and the desire to be vindicated. Vindication came in the form of anti-communist ideology. They were not Nazis — no,
they were just ANTICOMMUNISTS. Abead of their time.
No sooner has the Soviet Union gone — the anti-communism has been nimbly converted into Russophobia. The work of a moment.
Because Communism was never the mey driver of hatred towards Russia. In Uk, the imperial urges — now becoming more broadly “Western”. reignited the hatred of a challenger in the East.
East Europen states being lionized for their “dissent”, got the elite from the former Nazi-cum-anticommunist-cum-anti-Russian population with “dissenter” pedigree. They rule Eastern Europe today. Exception is Hungary and their leader Orban. There is a reason. Unlike other East European countries, West did not invest in Hungary’s “dissenters” — being typically
suspicious of Hungarians as “Asiatic” people. People with memory of their own statesmanship as a part of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Today, in Ukraine, the Nazi superiority idea has been put to test. For Russia, a painful but advantageous test of power. Ukraine is populated by Russians and Russian speaking Ukrainians that fought against Hitler — and know what is going on.
Eastern Europe looks at it as the judgment against their own regimes.
Russia need not prove anything. or save Europe and West from their Nazi creation. Just to defend and permanently secure population of
Ukraine from West sponsored Nazi revival. Designed to provoke Russia into “having to do something” as lose lips Biden declared befoe Russia’s intervention. And secure what is traditionaly its cultural sphere, endangered by the daily ever more inflaming Nazi porn coming from Zelenski’s circus,
Thank you for this post, Bianca. This is a point of view we rarely get in the west. History is so poorly taught in this country.
Just an guess, but perhaps a few teeny tiny things like the Russian alliance with Nazi Germany (pre 1941) and the resulting division of Poland between them, the Katyn massacre, the murder of tens of thousands of Polish POWs, deportation of more than 1 million Poles to Siberia and Kazakhstan, etc. left a bad taste in their mouths. Not to mention such rampant rape after liberation that a group of Polish communists installer in Krakow wrote a letter to Stalin himself in protest. Church masses were held to celebrate the withdrawal of the Soviet troops.
So yeah. Just spitballing here.
(And if you’re inclined to think the rapes were “Western propaganda,” Solzhenitsyn — a decorated Red Army commander — wrote about it in his poem “Prussian Nights.” And novelist Vasily Grossman, a war correspondent attached to the Red Army, wrote, “Horrifying things are happening to German women. An educated German whose wife has received ‘new visitors’ – Red Army soldiers – is explaining with expressive gestures and broken Russian words, that she has already been raped by ten men today. Soviet girls who have been liberated from camps are suffering greatly too. Last night some of them hid in the room provided for the war correspondents. Screams wake us up in the night. One of the correspondents could not restrain himself.”)
next up they will change the name of russian food to “freedom fries”.
but left unchanged will be the game of russian roulette.
If hate could win a war the Ukrainians would be in Moscow by now.
Hmm, then Russia must hate Ukrainians that bad too. They are all over ukraine right now.
The Russians aren’t winning the war with hate, they’re winning it with firepower. They’re waging it for ethnic Russians in Ukraine and to keep Ukraine out of NATO, but they’re winning it with firepower. Massive Russian firepower. The Ukrainians are waging a hate based campaign. Because they don’t have firepower. And hate sells.
Indeed. The AFU using NATO supplied weapons in revenge attacks on civilian targets is an example.
Poor, poor Ukrainazis. Because of their government’s racism and intractability, they’ll be deprived of some of the best music ( Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, etc.) and the best literature (Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pasternak, etc.) that the world has ever produced.
Hell, it could happen here in Amerikkka for all I know. If you appreciate classical music and literature, better stock up on those CDs and books right now.
Wonder if the Ukrainazis will seize their residents’ Siberian iris, Russian clump ( Amur River) maples, and Russian Blue and Siberian cats…Russian wolfhounds, too.
And don’t forget the beautiful Russian sage.
What do you expect? Open arms? Russia went full hitler on Ukraine. Im sure you know that but still cheering for the invaders.
You’re associating the wrong country with Hitler, pal.
Isn’t it interesting that sounds everyone here conveniently forgets that Russia and Hitler were allies from 1939 and 1941 and happily divided Poland between them? Russia would have happily ignored Hitler’s doings had he not invaded.
This move is pennywise & dollar foolish for today’s Ukraine. You have massive momentum for a full on ethnic war now. 1.5 million (mainly Russian speaking) Refugees have fled to Russia* That makes the (current) US government a helper in ethnic cleansing. . This can/ (odds say) will extend the war & make it more worse** .War turns everything to crap.(Bad for Europe. Bad for US citizens) Stop the escalation!!. Tirelessly, push for a negotiated settlement. I am antiwar***.
*Al Jazeera article: Ukrainians in Russia align with Moscow but lament refugee camps, June 17th, by Niko Vorobyov. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/17/ukrainians-in-russia-blame-european-governments-for-ongoing-war
**Israeli/Palestian conflict as( but one) an example of intractability. *** I am antiwar. Others are proWar, with ProUkraine & ProRussia factions.
They did this before too. This is part of how they helped provoke Russia.
It has been constant since the first Color Revolution of 2004, repeated in 2012 after it was first stopped by election of the “wrong” guy pushing the “wrong” deal.
In 2004 and again in 2012 they passed such laws. Every time Donbas flared up, they passed more of this.
I can see Alexander Solzenitsyn’s “200 years together” being completely banned.
It can be published there, in Ukrainian or other indigenous languages. Or imported in Russian from certain countries.
But even if it were banned, it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as what Russia did to Solzhenitsyn.
What did Russia do to him?
Besides being sentenced to eight years in gulags and three more years in exile in Kazahkstan, between 1945-1956? (Despite being a decorated Red Army commander and being awarded the Order of the Red Star.) Then prohibited from publishing his works ? Then charged with treason after “Gulag Archipelago” was published in France? Then stripped of his citizenship and deported? You mean besides that?
Poor guy.
That law will not pay for a single piece of war materiel which we have essentially given to Ukraine. It will not replace a single fallen Ukrainian soldier. It will not rebuild a single destroyed Ukrainian apartment. Its consideration is therefore the acme of irresponsibility. Only governments which know that they are losing their grip on the nation can come up with such diversions.
This is just one more reason Russia needs to take Kiev and get rid of the US puppet Regime.
Need in one hand, sh*t in the other, notice which hand gets full first.
Another ethnic cleansing scheme rears it’s ugly head. The US puppet regime in Kiev, once again proves how rooted it is in neo-Nazi ideology.
The US/NATO claims of “defending democracy” in Ukraine are threadbare as once again the empire displays it has no clothes.
Saying, in effect, “We’ll show you by making ourselves stupider and more boorish.” But they’ve got it right about the sensitivity of the Russian soul.
Every day I read about the miserable performance of the Russian armed forces and the successes of the Ukrainian soldiers. Then why is this law needed? The Russians will be out of Ukraine soon and with them all Russian-speaking Ukrainians, right?
Let me help you with the answer.
They dont teach nor promote German Nazi culture, propaganda, and literature in Russia. Right?
I wonder if Ukraine has declared Juneteenth a Federal Holiday, and allowed all those black Ukrainians to have a day off.
Fuck Ukraine
Incisive commentary as usual.
That was deleted, posted in a moment of frustration with Zelensky