The fallout from the current crisis is becoming apparent in unexpected places. According to a report by Publishing Perspectives, sales of Russian books in the Ukraine have plummeted this year and the Ukrainian government is looking at passing legislation to curtail imports further:
Azbuka-Atticus, [a] Russian leading publisher, notes the share of Ukrainian sales for his company declined from 11% in 2012/2013 to 6% during the first half of the current year.
Now, the Ukrainian government is looking to make the situation even more challenging by imposing specific sanctions against foreign books and publishers.
According to Alexander Sich, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, planned sanctions, which will be in the form of quotas and licenses, will primarily affect Russian books, which currently account for about 80% of the Ukrainian book market.
The need for quotas is acute, says Sich as the majority of Russian books in the Ukrainian market are of lower quality and mostly aimed at “destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and pose a threat to national security.”
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Ihor Kostenko of the #HeavenlyHundred named the Wikipedian of the year. He died on Feb 20 http://t.co/ZeCs3rDnFu http://t.co/9VHJiyyGmL
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) August 11, 2014
Interesting tweet from the Kremlin-controlled RT news outlet:
BREAKING: Russia and Ukraine agree on humanitarian operation - Lavrov http://t.co/ck04K6KED0
— RT (@RT_com) August 11, 2014
#Ukraine tells civilians to leave besieged rebel-held cities http://t.co/fSoSEjezn3 by @dpa_intl
— Nikolaus von Twickel (@niktwick) August 11, 2014
Russian order for three icebreakers from Helsinki shipyard confirmed | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi http://t.co/PPSpgvkkN9
— toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) August 11, 2014
Putin's presidential administration imported more than 1m bottles of EU wine in first half of 2014. Getting ready? http://t.co/jlya50B0IR
— Robert Coalson (@CoalsonR) August 11, 2014
I spoke with both Pdt #Poroshenko & Pdt #Putin today regarding the situation in #Ukraine. All details here http://t.co/ogbqw6KHzd
— José Manuel Barroso (@BarrosoEU) August 11, 2014
Confessions of a volunteer. What it feels like to take supplies to the war zone http://t.co/bz6wO7p9XO pic.twitter.com/xInXcF1uE3
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) August 11, 2014
!!! BREAKING NEWS !!!
The AP news agency is reporting that the Kremlin says Russia is sending a humanitarian convoy into Ukraine in cooperation with the Red Cross.
Here's another update from our news desk on reports of a Russian intervention in Ukraine:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso that Russia is sending a "humanitarian" convoy into Ukraine with supervision by the International Red Cross.
Barroso had warned Putin against any action in Ukraine, including humanitarian.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on August 11 that he saw a "high probability" Russia will try to intervene militarily in Ukraine "under the guise of a humanitarian operation."
Rasmussen said Russia is "developing the narrative and the pretext" for illegal military operations in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on August 11 that he had reached agreement with Kyiv for Russian humanitarian deliveries into eastern Ukraine.
But Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said a humanitarian mission would be allowed only if it is "an international one without any military escort" by Russian forces.
Barroso on August 11 pledged more than $3 million of European humanitarian aid for eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian service, AP, AFP, ITAR-TASS, Interfax)