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Russia condemns as illegal Ukraine’s banning of books

Maria Zakharova is the new spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russia has censured Ukraine’s recent decision to ban Russian books which Kiev alleges to be inflammatory and inspire support for those seeking a revolution against the Kiev government.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that the decision to ban the import of the books into Ukraine have come without observing the required judicial mechanisms.

“This was apparently done without any kind of judicial process,” Maria Zakharova said on her Facebook page.

Ukraine's State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, known as Goskomteleradio, banned the import and publishing of 38 books by Russian authors on Sunday, saying the decision was needed to prevent Russia from spreading “hate ideology, fascism, xenophobia and separatism.”

It said Russia used the books as part of its “information warfare” against Ukrainians, adding that the ban was legal considering the federal laws which prohibit foreign publications that have extremist content.

Some of the books are specially written to shed light on a two-year-long crisis in Ukraine, which has seriously damaged relations between Kiev and Moscow. Those include Gleb Bobrov's Ukraine in Flames (2014) and Eduard Limonov's Kiev Kaput (2015).

The ban on books came as Ukrainian officials have reportedly denied or cancelled certificates for a total of 376 Russian films and TV series over the past year. Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture has also drawn a list of Russian artists and notable cultural figures whose actions, it claims, pose a threat to Ukraine’s national security. Reports said that authorities have officially banned those on the list from entering the Ukrainian territory. 

An armed conflict broke out in east Ukraine in February 2014 after President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power. Kiev insists that Moscow backs pro-Russians in the east. Russia rejects the allegations, saying it will support the ethnic Russian population against what it calls the continued suppression exercised by the Ukrainian government.

The Tuesday statement by Zakharova was one of her first since she was officially named as the first spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The 39-year-old is known for her emphatic, anti-Western remarks which could further heat up the war of words on the Ukrainian conflict.


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