Ukrainian Literature Banned: Evidence from the Temporarily Occupied Territories by East SOS
The russian war against Ukraine is not only a military aggression – it is also a deliberate attempt to erase Ukrainian culture, memory, and identity. One of the most painful examples is the destruction of Ukrainian books and libraries.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, russian forces have seized and destroyed Ukrainian-language books, burned library collections, and eliminated everything that tells about Ukraine and its struggle for freedom. On All-Ukrainian Day of Libraries, the East SOS Charity Foundation shares documented stories from the temporarily occupied territories (TOT).
Since 2014, East SOS has been documenting russian war crimes in Ukraine. During the full-scale invasion, we conducted over 1,000 interviews, documented 1,560 alleged crimes, including testimonies of teachers and librarians who witnessed the destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage. For security reasons, the names of respondents are changed.
Natalia, a teacher at a lyceum in Bilokurakyne, Luhansk region, recalls how the occupation administration confiscated Ukrainian literature from the school library:
“They asked us to bring textbooks. Some of the children did, others didn’t. They seized textbooks from the library, along with all Ukrainian literature. The patriotic and Holodomor literature was taken to the basement. No one knows what happened to the books.”
Kateryna, a teacher from Hrechyshkyne, Luhansk region, testified about the destruction of these books by the occupation administration:
“It was back in 2022–2023. The occupiers confiscated books from people and forced children to bring them back to the school library. Then russians destroyed everything they seized – they took it to the boiler room and burned it there. Not only textbooks, but all the Ukrainian literature in the library was burned.”
According to another anonymous testimony from the Starobilsk district, in 2022-2023 the occupation administration made every effort to eliminate Ukrainian libraries:
“The literature was taken to the Department of Education. Everything that was found in the educational institution – books with Ukrainian symbols, handouts, teaching materials, professional journals – was put in one big pile at a landfill. Then they burned it on the territory of the educational institution.”
Viktoria, a teacher from the Luhansk region, recalls how russian authorities almost immediately started bringing russian textbooks and literature to school libraries and forced children to shoot videos expressing gratitude:
“They brought five laptops and forced us to shoot videos showing gratitude. Children were made to express thanks. The textbooks and russian literature were handed to the children personally.”
An anonymous source from the Starobilsk library testified that russians destroyed about 12,000 books. However, people tried to hide literature in their homes whenever possible:
“There were more than 12,000 books in the library. Almost all of them were destroyed. I have three library books left, and my colleagues also have a few. We hid them at home. Many of my friends also hid library books they had before the full-scale invasion.”
Oleksandra, a school student from the Donetsk region, shared how in 2023, russian authorities actively imported propaganda-filled textbooks into Ukrainian schools:
“Russians bring their fiction. In 2023, they delivered more textbooks spreading russian propaganda about the events of the Revolution of Dignity. The books also ridiculed the citizens of the Baltic states for banning the cartoon Masha and the Bear, claiming this proves the intellectual inferiority of the population of these states. All textbooks on literature, physics, and geography were updated with the new borders, of course.”
The documentation of such war crimes is carried out by the East SOS team within the project “Support for War-Affected Vulnerable Groups and Residents of Remote Areas of Ukraine”, with financial support from the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the Foundation and does not necessarily reflect the position of the EU.
