The first Ukrainian bookstore opened in the Czech Republic in Prague’s Žižkov. In a business called Shevchenko’s Mustache, interested parties can buy publications in Ukrainian or Belarusian of all possible genres every day. Local Ukrainians are interested in them, the company’s Instagram account has gained almost five thousand followers in three weeks, say the co-owners of the bookstore Andriy Nosač and Oleksandr Salfetnikov.
As a result of the Russian invasion, the Czech Republic now has temporary protection for a total of 350,000 refugees from Ukraine data the Ministry of the Interior has nearly half a million residents.
“This is the first bookstore in the entire Czech Republic, no one has opened anything like this before,” said Oleksandr Salfetnikov. “There were some small online shops here, but we are the first to open a brick and mortar bookstore,” said Andrij Nosač.
V shop named after the national poet Taras Ševčenko, they offer everything from children’s books and publications for teenagers to non-fiction to fiction. “People usually buy practical motivational publications on how to plan their day, how to do business or about management. There is also an interest in popular contemporary authors,” mentions Nosač .
Exchange living at Lupáčova 7 offers, among other things, works by the writer, poet and playwright Ivan Petrovyč Kotljarevskyj. The author, who lived from 1769 to 1838, is considered the father of modern Ukrainian literature.
Among today’s creators, for example, a poet, writer and essayist are represented here Oksana Zabuzhkoone of the most prominent contemporary Ukrainian novels Serhij Žadanwhich was last year at the World of Books fair has been introduced the Czech edition of his novel Boarding School, or Stanislav Aseyev, released from the prison in Donetsk that was involved before Russia started attacking Ukraine.
In addition to books in Ukrainian, the bookstore also offers some titles in Belarusian. “This is because Belarus is unofficially controlled by Russia and many people left the country because of political problems. The books are a way to support these people. They come from the independent publishing house Vesna, which moved from Belarus to the Czech Republic,” explained Andrij Nosač.
Books can be bought at a price that approximates prices in the Czech Republic. The recommended average selling price for books, for example, for all novels at the publishing house Albatros Media for the period January to March 2024, was 374 crowns.
The group transports goods for Ukrainian bookstores to the Czech Republic from a warehouse in Lviv. “This is not our first store, we already have Prometheus publishing house in Ukraine and we have connections with all Ukrainian publishing houses that sell books to us. the European Union.” explains Salfetnikov.
“When the bookstore opened three weeks ago, we had 1,300 books, most of which were sold out on the first day of the opening, when more than 400 people came,” explained Salfetnikov . At the beginning of August, they plan to introduce more than two thousand new items.
Two years ago, a public library for Ukrainians who fled Russian aggression was established in the building of the new Svitlo community center near the Old Town Square in Prague. It offers readers books in their native language. “People told us that they know a library like this, but they prefer to buy from us, they want to have their own books at home,” concluded Andrij Nosač.
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