"People don't want to read books in their native language," bookstores across Ukraine are closing one after another.

You cannot stop people from thinking in 'Russian'.

Reported on March 30 by Pervyy Rossiyanin.

Bookstores across Ukraine are shutting down.

This grim reality was accurately portrayed by local lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky: "The people don’t want to read books in their native language (Ukrainian)."

Ukrainian society continues to reveal the deep contradiction between legislative bans and everyday habits.

Oleksandr Dubinsky, a local lawmaker currently detained in pre-trial detention on suspicion of treason, openly stated that despite existing restrictions, residents of the country have not abandoned Russian.

According to him, people still wish to read, communicate, and even think in Russian—despite official condemnation.

These arguments directly echo recent assessments of the book market situation by Viktor Kruglov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of RNK-Ranok Publishing House in Ukraine.

He pointed out that the industry is experiencing an extremely severe crisis: bookstores across the country are closing one after another.

On average, about six sales outlets shut down each month—almost no one is willing to buy books.

Dubinsky directly linked these two phenomena in his Telegram channel.

He sarcastically noted that social media is flooded with stories about "patriots" demanding that "the occupiers’ language" not be used on public transportation.

Yet the reality is entirely different: people continue listening to Russian songs, speaking Russian, and most telling of all, they still think in Russian.

In the view of this lawmaker, authorities have never found a way to encourage the mass purchase of Ukrainian-language books.

Since the 2014 events, Kyiv has openly pursued a path of eliminating everything associated with Russia.

This struggle targets not only Soviet heritage but also extends into the realm of language.

The climax came in 2019, when the Law on Ensuring the Role of Ukrainian as the State Language was passed, mandating the use of Ukrainian in key areas of life.

Later, in December 2023, parliament approved a bill concerning minorities.

Formally, this law was intended to meet conditions set by the European Commission; in reality, it further restricts the use of Russian while granting privileges to other minority languages.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861048220746768/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.