According to Ukrainian publishers, output in almost all segments of the book market has dropped by more than 50 percent this year. The deplorable figures offer a rational explanation: the economic crisis and a difficult sociopolitical situation are a serious test for this sector. On the other hand, the time of changes and increased human activity, in which we are destined to live, requires powerful mental work. And is there anything else than books where we can search for ideas, strategies, and inspiration? Are we finding responses to these challenges in the new national publications?
Book publishing is a business that finds it difficult to survive without state support. Even the much more affluent countries understood this long ago. Support is necessary, above all, to the publications which can become an important factor in the formation of national self-identification and in further state building. A positive example of public-private partnership is the Ukrainian Book program, which funds the publication of the most significant books. This year it comprised two Den’s Library books – The Power of the Soft Sign and Ukraine Incognita. Incidentally, it is by no means the first experience of our successful cooperation with the program.
In an interview with Bohdan CHERVAK, First Deputy Chairman of the State Television and Radio Committee, we discuss the governmental strategy in book publishing, the new regulations of the Ukrainian Book programs, which will take effect next year, and the successes and problems of Ukrainian presentation at the latest Frankfurt Book Fair.
Mr. Chervak, there were instances in the previous years when the state delayed Ukrainian Book outlays. As a result, publishers incurred heavy losses. Did you manage to avoid such unexpected things in 2015?
“In spite of an extremely unfavorable socioeconomic situation and the need to allocate a lot of funds to the ministries of defense and internal affairs, the government earmarked 40,475,000 hryvnias for carrying out the Ukrainian Book program. As of today, most of the bidding procedures have already been done. We are sure that Ukrainian Book will be implemented for the first time within the scheduled period of time.”
This year the Ukrainian Book program included Den’s Library books The Power of the Soft Sign and Ukraine Incognita. Do you know them? Why do you think it is important that these books reach a wide range of readers?
“I am a longtime reader of and contributor to the newspaper Den. Den is of great importance in my life. Naturally, I know these and other Den’s Library books. Some of them were previously published under the Ukrainian Book program too, for we have been cooperating for many years. Den’s books usually draw a wide response. I would also like to point out that Den always executes documents correctly and goes through all the necessary procedures. We are interested in further cooperation because books are very topical publications. I don’t think somebody still underestimates the importance of world outlook and ideology in the making of Ukrainian statehood and in resisting the Russian aggression. Obviously, we will not be able to have a future as a nation and a state unless we know our own history. In this context, Den’s Library has a well-thought-out concept. It is not just books on history. It is a literature that emphasizes the present and the future while telling about history. Unfortunately, Ukrainian historiography stressed until recently our defeats and the injustices done to our people. But, in reality, the history of Ukraine has also seen brilliant national victories and heroic figures. We just did not know about them! Den’s Library helps bridge these gaps. Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and the Battle of Konotop, the UNR and the national liberation struggle in 1917-20, the proclamation of independence by the Central Rada, a heroic struggle for our state, Kruty, the OUN and the UPA… These and other topics are spotlighted on Den’s pages and publications. It is of paramount importance in the context of the formation of national self-identification in the Ukrainians who have to defend their land with weapons in hand today. Only a motivated person, one who is aware of defending his or her own children, their future, Ukrainian history and traditions, can do this effectively. For this reason, it would be wrong to underrate the importance of Den’s Library.
“The Russians hit upon the idea of a ‘Russian World’ by stealing our history because they do not in fact have a history of their own. Their propaganda is based on the assumption that the Russian Empire was a legal successor to Kyivan Rus’, but all serious historical sources deny this – the making of Russia had nothing to do with Kyivan Rus’. And Den has made a major contribution to debunking these myths.”
As is known, the budget-supported Ukrainian Book program will be carried out under new regulations from the next year onwards. What are these changes aimed at?
“We have received a lot of justified complaints from NGOs, publishers, and authors that the formation of the Ukrainian Book program is not transparent and does not meet the demands of time. So, we decided this year to make changes to this process. We took into account almost all the proposals that do not run counter to the current law.
“I want to emphasize that it is not bureaucrats who decide which publications will be included into the Ukrainian Book program and which will be not. It is the job of an expert board, which consists of well-known Ukrainian writers, literary critics, and publishers. Whenever the State Television and Radio Committee makes a decision, quite in accordance with the current law, we only take into account the expert commission’s conclusions.
“To correct faults in the program, we invited in June the people who criticized us, all those who could advise us how to achieve a better transparency. There was a heated but constructive debate. As a result, we received a large number of concrete proposals. We took into account the most essential, even the most radical, of them.
“The new implementation procedure of the Ukrainian Book program envisions, among other things, new thematic varieties of publications. From now on, the publications that come out as part of this budget-sponsored program will comprise military-patriotic books as well as translations of Ukrainian works into foreign languages, for we care about the spreading of Ukrainian literature abroad. Besides, publishers will be now obliged to submit not only the proof of a publication’s social importance, but also a dummy copy or the manuscript itself, information about themselves and about the already implemented publishing projects. In addition, under the new conditions, one publisher can submit not more than three applications to one thematic sector. This amendment is aimed at preventing the imbalance that occurred previously, when a few large publishing houses received the lion’s share of funds.
Photo by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day
“There are also fundamental changes in the clause that sets rules for the expert board. From now on, a person who is in an employment relationship with the publisher who has submitted proposals on the list of publications to the State Television and Radio Committee cannot be member of the expert board. The term of expert board members, including the chairperson and his/her deputies, must not exceed one year, and the same individual cannot be the chairperson, his/her deputy or a board member for more than two consecutive terms. This rotation is supposed to make the board’s decisions more unbiased.”
These changes are undoubtedly correct, but the public made even much more radical proposals – for example, instead of funding Ukrainian Book, to allot money directly to libraries so they could purchase literature by themselves. There was also a proposal that the state should not limit itself to the available list of book titles but choose top-priority publishing projects on its own and hold an open competition for their implementation. What is your attitude to these initiatives?
“This kind of ‘radical’ changes requires an essential revision of the law. If Verkhovna Rada members show a political will to make such changes, we, as an executive body, will fulfill this decision. But, in my opinion, the humanitarian sphere is too sensitive – we must not forget the ‘do no harm’ principle. Any radical changes may produce more damage than benefit. Should these proposals be put into practice, a situation may arise when the state will in fact stay away from supporting the Ukrainian book and eventually lose any leverage.”
In spite of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and aggression in the Donbas, the Ukrainian market is still snowed under with Russian books. These are often counterfeit products. They not only rule out fair competition because they cost much cheaper but are also an instrument of psychological warfare. In what way do you think this situation can be changed?
“I am sure the state must not turn a blind eye to this. There is nothing to discus here as Russia is waging an information war against Ukraine – the problem must be tackled right now. There have been all kinds of proposals on this matter, but they have often called for changing the law. Without waiting for parliament’s reaction, we chose another radical, albeit legitimate, way. The State Television and Radio Committee has given the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine a list of anti-Ukrainian separatist ‘literature’ published in Russia and smuggled to Ukraine in order to trigger socioeconomic and political destabilization of the situation. From now on, customs do not let these so-called ‘books’ into this country.
“The state committee immediately began to be showered with accusations. Firstly, we were reproached for being uncivilized – by banning books, we become similar to Russia. Secondly, many insisted that we would be simply unable to solve the problem by these methods and Russian books would still remain on the market.
“Let me answer. Firstly, it is wrong to compare our and Russian actions. The Russians ban the Ukrainian books, which they think pose a threat to the ‘Russian World.’ For example, they have banned three of my books, including the collection Chivalrous Spirits dedicated to the Ukrainian ‘Visnyk poets’ Teliha, Olzhych, Malaniuk, and others. Russia has also banned Ukrainian spiritual literature – some books by Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky and Patriarch Yosyp Slipy, even the ones that only deal with the performance of religious rites. This raises question: what is the criterion? Obviously, everything associated with the Ukrainian idea, identity, and national liberation movement is subject to a ban. By contrast, we only put an obstacle to ideological literature, the literature that pursues the goal of liquidating the Ukrainian state.
“As for the effectiveness of this approach, there is an obvious need in a special examination. Unfortunately, this is not in the competence of the State Television and Radio Committee. Yet I can refer you to an inquiry conducted by a leading TV channel. Its journalists visited Kyiv’s Petrivka market, bookstores, and libraries, and… found not a single book from the list of banned publications. To be on the safe side, some sellers and publishers have flatly rejected Russian products.
“Clearly, it is a forced, temporary, step. Instead, it is necessary to introduce systemic changes, such as marking or licensing, and make changes to legislation. In spite of all difficulties, we are working in this direction.”
There is one more problem that makes Ukraine dependent on the Russian book market. More often than not, the copyright to the Russian translation of Western authors is given to one entity only, and Russian publishers are the first to buy it out. This is why Ukraine’s Russian-speaking readers have to buy books from Russia. Moreover, some of the Russian publishers also buy out the copyright to Ukrainian translation and… stop short of publishing it. How can this be hindered?
“This problem really exists. I know the instances when they bought out the right even to the books of Ukrainian authors – so that nobody else could publish them at all. This means that the Russian governmental policy is aimed against the Ukrainian book. It is difficult to fight this. I think we should, above all, encourage Ukrainian publishers to cooperate with their Western counterparts, also by way of participating in international book forums.”
One of them, the Frankfurt Book Fair, was held very recently. As is known, past year Ukraine was not represented there by a separate stand. This time the Ukrainian stand was put up, albeit not without difficulties. It evoked positive press comments and aroused rather a lively interest on the part of fair visitors. What do you think of Ukraine’s participation in the world’s largest book forum?
“Past year, given the current situation, Ukraine was not in a position to take part in the Frankfurt fair. But this year the state allotted 1,096,000 hryvnias for this purpose. We are being criticized for doing this too late. Let me say that the funds were made available once they appeared in the state budget. In my view, it was quite a courageous step of the Ukrainian government, for it was taken when we saw the most dramatic events in the Donbas. It was very easy at that moment to find an excuse for not doing so. Nevertheless, the government found the necessary funds.
“Then the Frankfurt preparation epic began. We are accused of doing this not fast enough and not effectively enough. Some even say the State Television and Radio Committee kept aloof from organization after the funds had been allotted. It is wrong. The point is that we can spend public financial resources in a legitimate way only, which means inviting bids. Only the highest bidder has the right to dispose of these budgetary funds. And it takes time for bidding procedures to take place. Finally, under the circumstances, it became next to impossible for us to meet the deadline. Finances, the concept of the stand, book delivery – we had to decide on this all in the last minute. Some problems arose, but we tackled them by way of negotiations with the Frankfurt fair management. I want to thank our German colleagues for meeting us halfway. As a matter of fact, they had every formal reason to deny us registration, but they didn’t do so. The situation is somewhat paradoxical. On the one hand, Ukraine was noticed and positively assessed in Frankfurt perhaps for the first time, and, at the same time, we mostly hear criticism on the part of the Ukrainian public. Of course, there are also some positive comments.”
As far as I know, Ukraine’s participation in the latest Frankfurt fair is, to a large extent, the merit of volunteers, NGOs, private sponsors, and the Ukrainian consulate in Frankfurt. It is by their efforts that the stand was made, and it is they who prepared informational support. At the same time, volunteers complain that the state failed to delegate a responsible coordinator who could help speedily solve all the problems. In their words, there was not even a representative of the State Television and Radio Committee or the Ministry of Culture in Frankfurt.
“Ukraine was criticized precisely for this in the previous years – look, the prime minister, ministers and the radio and television boss have come to Frankfurt to hype themselves up. And this criticism was right – it is not their business to travel there – they should create conditions for publishers and writers to travel there.
“It is also wrong to say that there was no coordination. There was always coordination on the part of the State Television and Radio Committee. The committee chairman and I were in daily contact with the fair’s management. We met volunteers every week to discuss the current problems. So, I can’t accept this kind of criticism.
“It is true that volunteers helped us very much. The state funds were only enough to rent the area. But the organizers seriously supported us. When they learned that we had neither the time nor the money to put up a stand, they gave us one of theirs. Only then did the volunteers, writers, publishers, and consular staff begin to take part in this. Using the German stands, they created the Ukrainian exposition with their own hands. They did it very well and demanded no money to be paid for this work. No other than volunteers were deciding which books should be presented in Frankfurt. We did not interfere much – we were only trying to help. The State Television and Radio Committee is very grateful to volunteers because we would have done nothing without their participation. They did a good job, and we created conditions for them to do so.
“One of the reasons why this kind of events is important is that they help dispel Russian myths about Ukraine in Europe. This also occurred in Frankfurt. Ukrainian writers were in the highlight of many German and international media, and journalist asked them not only about literature. Therefore, to crown it all, Ukraine’s participation in the Frankfurt fair was a successful information campaign.
“This year the Ukrainian stand in Frankfurt was put up under force-majeure circumstances. It is a useful experience. But now we must learn to prepare in good time and in normal conditions. Not to have a similar situation in 2016, we began to prepare for the next fair immediately after the end of the previous one. An organizing committee will be set up in the near future, which will thus have a year to address all the burning issues.”
