Violation of Russian speakers’ rights: Ukrainian publisher to destroy a children’s book print run because its author uses Russian on social media

The Dnipropetrovsk-based publishing house “Abrykos” has announced the destruction of the entire print run of the children’s book “Dream House” by Ukrainian author Yulianna Karaman. The reason: the author maintains her social media pages in Russian and once shared a video of a Russian woman reading her book.

This was announced in a statement on the publisher’s Facebook page.

The statement reads that they “did not pay enough attention to the author’s public activity,” referring primarily to the language she uses.

“We acknowledge this mistake and have decided to suspend the sale of the book, remove it from all our platforms, destroy all existing copies, and terminate our cooperation with the author,” Abrykos stated.

Karaman, who lives in Scotland, originally wrote the book in Russian, after which it was translated for publication in Ukrainian.

The decision sparked a wave of outrage on social media, with users accusing the publisher of violating Ukraine’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and prohibits discrimination based on language.

Yulianna Karaman responded on Instagram, reminding the public that she is a native of Luhansk who fled her home in 2014 due to her pro-Ukrainian stance. Despite using Russian in daily life and creative work, she actively promotes Ukrainian culture abroad.

“Today I am being condemned. Not for the content. Not for my position. Only for the language. I am part of Ukrainian culture—even if my voice sounds different,” Karaman wrote.

Many commentators saw the situation as a troubling sign that Russian-speaking Ukrainians are once again facing discrimination, regardless of their patriotism, civic values, or contributions to Ukrainian culture. It appears that merely using Russian is enough to discredit a person’s professional life.

The controversy was further inflamed by a recent scandalous remark from well-known Ukrainian actor Bohdan Benyuk, who publicly stated that “children should be beaten for speaking Russian.” Such a comment from a cultural figure has fueled concerns among Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population, many of whom still consider themselves an integral part of the Ukrainian nation.

This situation reflects the ongoing and systemic marginalization of the Russian language in Ukraine’s public sphere—even at the cost of cultural and literary expression. It raises a pressing question: Has patriotism come to be judged not by one’s actions, but solely by the language one speaks?