Presentation of Ulyaneko’s banned book to become a “public trial”

The latest highly controversial assessment from the National Expert Commission for the Protection of Public Morality (the Commission has already had consequences and the scandal is unlikely to die down quickly.

It was learned on Thursday that the new book by Oles Ulyanenko, laureate of the prestigious Taras Shevchenko Award, “The Woman of his dreams” had been deemed “pornographic” by the Commission.

The presentation of the book had been scheduled for the evening of 13 February in the bookshop «Є» in Kyiv. However the publisher of the book, on learning of the Commission’s assessment (which seems to have been made after the publishers themselves asked the Commission to examine the book), suspended sale of the book and cancelled the presentation.

The author and bookshop, however, decided to go ahead with the presentation despite the publishers’ decision, saying that instead it would be a public trial of a pornographic book and its author.

“During the public trial, there will be addresses from literary people, musicians, literary critics and concerned members of the public who will condemn the pornographic nature of Oles Ulyanenko’s book which undermines the basis of Ukrainian statehood and demoralizes Ukraine’s highly spiritual public. Oles Ulyanenko will, if necessary, be brought to the court by force”, the statement from the artists’ association “Last Barricade” reads.

 From information at www.telekritika.ua