Russia's bibliocide destroys 9.65 million books as libraries burn

Russia has damaged or destroyed 906 libraries and 9.65 million books since May, escalating a campaign of bibliocide that Ukrainian officials describe as part of a broader genocidal policy. The destruction spans occupied villages to Kyiv's Pochayna Book Market, hit by ballistic missiles on Aug. 16, and targets Ukraine's publishing capital Kharkiv, where 8 million books burned in a single Aug. 1 strike.

"The burning of libraries accompanied genocides throughout the centuries as an erasure of someone else's identity," said Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, which received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. "Putin openly says that there is no Ukrainian nation, no Ukrainian language, no Ukrainian culture."

The Ukrainian Culture Ministry counts 906 libraries damaged or destroyed since 2022. The Aug. 1 strike on the RNK-Ranok publishing house logistics center and KnyhoLand bookstore chain depot destroyed 8 million books, including 600,000 school textbooks. In Kapytolivka, only 4,500 of 16,500 books survived the occupation; librarians found Ukrainian history texts in toilets, covered in human waste. Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna reported over 1.5 million books destroyed in July alone.

The campaign extends beyond libraries to the entire publishing supply chain. Faktor-Druk, one of Ukraine's largest printing houses, was hit in May 2024, killing seven employees. The Rozetka warehouse complex was destroyed Aug. 5. With 9.65 million books destroyed since May and back-to-school season approaching, Ukraine faces a reconstruction bill that reaches into education, cultural identity, and national memory.

The pattern follows historical precedents of bibliocide. The Nazis burned books in Germany in the 1930s, the Khmer Rouge destroyed Cambodia's literary heritage in the 1970s, Bosnian Serbs razed Sarajevo's National and University Library in 1992, and ISIS devastated Mosul Central Library in 2015. In each case, the destruction of written culture accompanied broader campaigns of national erasure.

In occupied territories, the destruction has been systematic. A teacher from Luhansk described how occupiers confiscated books from residents and forced children to return them to school libraries, where everything was taken to the boiler room and burned — not just textbooks but all Ukrainian literature. In Rovenky, books were burned in 2023. In Mariupol, the Petro Mohyla Church library was destroyed in 2022.

Librarians resist under occupation

Anehlina Vietrova, a librarian in the Kherson Library system, sheltered Svitlana Pekaliuk, head of Oleksandrivka's library, during the occupation. Together they ran a clandestine lending operation from Vietrova's home. After liberation, Pekaliuk returned to a destroyed library and set up a mobile replacement but died soon after. "Now there is no library," Vietrova said.

The Kherson Regional Children's Library, a renovated building with a large hall where children read and held parties, was hit multiple times. "They were clearly striking it on purpose," Vietrova said. The Oles Honchar Library in Kherson city was also deliberately targeted. "The building stands alone, and it's obviously a library. They destroyed it."

Publishing industry under siege

Kharkiv, Ukraine's publishing capital, has borne the brunt. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched more than 1,550 strike drones, nearly 1,560 aerial bombs, and 62 missiles at Ukraine in a single week. Sergii Polituchyi, founder and president of Faktor Cos. Group, which owns the Faktor-Druk printing house where seven employees were killed in May 2024, said the industry rebuilt once but faces a bleaker outlook now. "The only way forward is to stop Russia. They want to destroy our imagination."

Maria Mezentseva-Fedorenko, a member of Ukraine's Parliament, framed the destruction as a continuation of historical persecution. "Throughout the 20th century, Ukrainian authors were persecuted and our texts censored. This large-scale destruction isn't just about books. It's about robbing our children's future."

Lt. Oksana "Ksena" Rubaniak, a 23-year-old poet serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, offered a counterpoint: "As a soldier, I defend our land. As a poet, I defend the written word. Because words outlive even ruins. While every destroyed book is an attempt to silence a generation, the Ukrainian voice cannot be burned or erased."

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