The student from Kyiv has made the trip to the bookshop Syavo knyhy in the center of the capital. She has a large bag full of books with her. All are in Russian. – This is the language of the country that has attacked my homeland. I neither want to read nor communicate in the attacker’s language, says Olexandra Kovalenko. I want to get rid of everything Russian. Since May last year, the bookshop has accepted Russian books that people no longer want. The basement of the bookstore in Kyiv is crammed full of Russian books. Since May, more than 17 tonnes have been collected. Photo: gunnar bratthammer / news The interest has been enormous. Every single day, people come and deliver, says Lidiia Shokha (28). She works in the bookshop and says that at most 250 people have visited in one day. – Much has changed since the invasion on 24 February last year. What used to be okay is no longer okay. People will no longer see the language of those who are now occupying our land and killing us, says Shokha. Lidiia Shokha works in the bookstore which, since May, has been accepting Russian books that Ukrainians no longer want. Photo: gunnar bratthammer / news Culture war The war in Ukraine has led to a culture war also taking place. Ukrainian radio channels do not play Russian music. Street names named after Russian people get new names. Statues of Russian writers are being removed in several cities. In Kyiv, the underground station, which was named after the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, has been given a new name. From now on, the station will be called Heroes of Ukraine. At the Opera in Kyiv, many well-known and beloved performances have been removed from the programme. The Kyiv Opera House reopened last May after being closed since the February 24 invasion. Performances that can be associated with Russia are absent from the program. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / AP The Swan Lake ballet will not be staged for the foreseeable future. The reason is that the composer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, is Russian. Director Anatoliy Solovianenko explained to the online newspaper Kyiv independent why it has to be like that. – We have nothing to complain about the quality of Tchaikovsky’s music. The problem is that this music represents Russia and this country’s ideology. Those who have seen the brutal murders of civilians in the towns of Butsha, Irpin and Izium do not ask us why we do not stage Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, says the director. Streets with Russian names are being replaced all over Ukraine. Here the sign with Moskvagata in Kyiv is turned down. Last autumn, local politicians in the capital decided to change the name of 142 streets. The statue of the Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin was removed from the center of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in December. Pushkin is considered by many to be Russia’s greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. In January, the citizens of Kyiv voted for three underground stations to be given new names. The Leo Tolstoy station is now called Heroes of Ukraine, the Friendship between Peoples station is called Zverynetska, while Prospekt Pravda is now called Varshavskaya. Detest everything that Russian Larysa Volevach (86) has also made the trip to the bookshop. She brings with her world-famous Russian authors such as Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. Getting rid of Russian literature is a way for the Ukrainians to defend themselves. – We simply defend our language and literature. That’s why we have to get rid of Russian in everyday life. I feel disgust for everything Russian. She has stopped reading Russian children’s books for grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Respect for what is Russian is gone. The war started because the Russians want to destroy Ukraine, our way of life and our language, says Volevach. Larysa Volevach (86) has visited the bookstore in Kyiv several times to get rid of Russian classics. Photo: gunnar bratthammer / news Sent for recycling The books delivered to the bookstore are sent for recycling. The money they get for the paper goes to support the Ukrainian forces. So far they have raised over 13 thousand dollars. With the money, they have bought a car. Olexandra Kovalenko has delivered the stack of books and is ready to leave the bookstore. She tells of good childhood memories when the adults read aloud from the poems of the famous Russian poet Pushkin. Today, she is determined never to open a Russian book again. – In the future, I will concentrate on reading Ukrainian poets and writers. We have many interesting voices, she says. Olexandra Kovalenko (19) will never read Russian literature again. Here in front of the Russian-language books she has delivered to the bookstore in Kyiv. Photo: gunnar bratthammer / news.
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A bookstore in Kyiv accepts Russian books and literature that Ukrainians don’t want – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
