Ukraine will considerably restrict the place of Russian music on the airwaves and in public places. The importation of books published in Russia will also be prohibited, according to two texts of laws adopted Sunday, June 19 by the Ukrainian Parliament. This is, explain the deputies, to reduce the risk of “propaganda hostile to Ukraine”.
The invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine has many consequences between the two countries. Here’s one more, this time in the world of culture. The Ukrainian Parliament has adopted two texts aimed at restricting the dissemination of Russian music and the import of books published in Russia.
The first of these laws plans to ban Russian music on television, on the radio, in schools, but also in public places and transport. Please note that this ban will only apply to composers who acquired Russian nationality after 1991, i.e. after theUkrainian independence. It is therefore recent productions that are targeted, and not Russian heritage as a whole.
It will therefore always be possible to listen in a hotel in kyiv to a sonata by Tchaikovsky or a symphony of Shostakovich. Finally, Ukrainian parliamentarians provide for exemptions for Russian artists who request them from the security services, but on condition that they declare their support for the sovereignty of the country.
kyiv intends to fight against Russian propaganda
Regarding literature, the second piece of legislation prohibits the import of books published in Russia and Belarus, and provides for an authorization system for any book written in Russian. The objective of the Ukrainian parliamentarians is to fight against the influence deemed hostile by Russia and to strengthen the place of the Ukrainian language in the country.
The law still needs to be ratified by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He himself comes from a Russian-speaking family and has spent his entire acting career in Russian. But there is no indication today that he will oppose these two pieces of legislation which are part of a vast campaign to “derussify” Ukraine. A campaign that has accelerated since the invasion of the country by Russia last February.