"Where books are burned, people are also burned at the end" is a famous quote from the tragedy "Almansor" by the German poet Heinrich Heine. It has become relevant again against the background of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The burning of Ukrainian books by the Russian military, as well as by the occupation authorities established by them, are becoming known more and more often. While this fact may serve as a manifestation of both ignorance and inter-ethnic hatred, it is evidence of another crime - ethnocide.
Almost immediately after the invasion began, as the occupation of Ukrainian territory progressed, the Russian military began ideological work with the local population. In addition to propaganda, the Russians took control of the cultural part of Ukrainians' life.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, as early as March 2022, in temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, the Russian Federation military police conducted book seizures from local schools and libraries. The list of undesirable books included not only historical literature, but also fiction, the plot of which did not coincide with the ideological perception of the occupying forces. Among other things, Ukrainian history textbooks were also subject to withdrawal.
During a briefing on May 13, the head of the Verkhovna Rada committee for humanitarian and information policy, Mykyta Poturaev, said that Russian occupation troops in Ukraine were burning books in the Ukrainian language. After they occupy a populated area, they not only loot but also destroy libraries - Poturaev said.
One of the first pieces of evidence confirming this thesis is the destruction of libraries of one of the schools in temporarily occupied Mariupol. In the local school No. 48, in the courtyard Russians arranged a dump of books from the school library. The corresponding photo confirmation was published by the adviser to the mayor of the city Petro Andryushchenko. The image shows a large mountain of books lying in the yard, some of which were clearly trying to burn.
A similar case was recorded in February 2023 by the Center for National Resistance of Ukraine. The Center notes that the occupants are removing Ukrainian books from the funds of public and school libraries, in Rovenky, Luhansk region, cases of mass burning of Ukrainian literature in local boiler houses were recorded.
In addition, the Center for National Resistance in September 2022, reported the seizure of Ukrainian books from the libraries of the city of Melitopol. "Within the framework of this "action" the police actually seized all Ukrainian literature, and not only books about the ATO. In particular, the occupants are writing children's books, because they "spoil" the history of Ukraine and imitate "Nazi values". The Russians call all this denazification, although the Nazis are known for their war with books," the statement reads.
On November 17, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine reported that in temporarily occupied Enerhodar, a satellite town of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Russians withdrew all Ukrainian history textbooks from schools.
These events received worldwide publicity. On May 21, 2022 Melinda Simmons, the Ambassador of Great Britain to Ukraine, released a photo of the seizure of Ukrainian history books.
Although the photo itself dates back to 2010, when Ukrainian history books were burned at a rally of pro-Russian organizations in Simferopol, the systematic destruction of Ukrainian literature is truly frightening.
In total, according to media reports, representatives of the occupation authorities in the Luhansk region - the so-called "Ministry of Education and Science of Lnr", sent a document to the heads of city and district administrations, subordinate educational organizations with the advice to remove from the school libraries books from the list of 365 items.
The most terrible situation is in the mentioned Mariupol. Apparently, fearing that pro-Ukrainian sentiments are very high in the city, the Russian administration is thoroughly checking all educational institutions and libraries for the presence of Ukrainian literature. In particular, the occupiers removed all books from the Andersen library in the Primorsky district of the city. Although the library premises itself was not seriously damaged, the Russians completely removed all the books.
Library before occupation
Library during Russian occupation
A similar situation took place at the Azov State Technical University. Eyewitnesses recorded how books were taken out of the university's libraries en masse. Before that, they were left right on the street, despite the bad weather, which may indicate that the literature was actually going for disposal.
A video from the Mariupol trade technical college shows that almost the entire library of the institution is lying on the floor. It is quite likely that the Russian security services, as they have done on several occasions, came with a search, trying to find Ukrainian literature.
The purges of libraries have reached churches as well. In the Temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Petro Mohyla, at the tip-off and assistance of clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church in Mariupol, the entire extensive library collected by volunteers and benefactors was seized and burned in the courtyard of the Temple. This was reported by Petro Andryushchenko, advisor to the Mariupol city mayor. This library contained several unique copies of Ukrainian-language publications, which are now lost forever.
These actions can rightly be seen as a deliberate policy of forced assimilation of Ukrainians, and thus ethnocide. Although both terms were not added to the final version of the Genocide Convention, Article 8 of the 1994 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has provisions regarding such Russian actions.
In particular, States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:
(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities.
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