As per usual, I forget to post on Tumblr now a days. Let's talk Faktor Druk.
What happened?
Russia launched 15 missiles at Kharkiv. Faktor Druk, a printing house was hit twice (in total 3 strikes in the general area). Last I heard, 7 are dead. 22 are wounded. (During the strike, 50 employees were in the building.)
Why it matters? Most Ukrainian publishers had books printed there. Every 3rd Ukrainian book was printed there [Source]. You may think "it's only 50 000 fiction books", but no, it includes textbooks. As in, kids might not get any textbooks, because who else will print them when most books are printed in Kharkiv?
"The printing house Faktor-Druk is part of the Faktor company group, which also includes the renowned Ukrainian publishing house and bookstore Vivat. Faktor-Druk has the capacity to produce approximately 50 million hardcover and paperback books, 100 million magazines, and 300 million newspapers annually. The facility employs 400 people and encompasses 15,822 square meters of production space. According to Forbes Ukraine, Faktor-Druk is one of only two factories in Ukraine that can print products for Disney and Marvel, having successfully passed a rigorous multi-level audit." [Source]
Now how to help? Countries are trying to help with rebuilding, but here are some things you can do.
Vivat posted about a fundraiser for Faktor Druk. Originally posted here by CEO Yuliya Orlova. Reposted to Vivat website here.
Based on my own experience, I believe it is crucial to channel our grief and anger into action. How can you do that?
Ways to support:
Donate to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they are our heroes!
Keep buying Ukrainian books! Factor-Druk is one of the largest printing houses in Ukraine, where not only Vivat books are printed, but also many books from other publishers, as well as newspapers, magazines, calendars, school notebooks for your children and grandchildren.⠀
How to help:
The Factor company has initiated a fundraiser. All donations will be used to support those affected and to restore the printing industry. Details can be found at the following link: https://vivat.com.ua/blog/udar-po-drukarni-faktor-druk-yak-dopomohty/ [Source]
Vally_v on Instagram is doing a fundraiser raffle below for the chance to win this edition of Ivan Franko's “Manipuliantka”.
You can support the publishers by buying Ukrainian books and ebooks (most print their books through Faktor).
On the whole, this destruction is part of the larger war where Russians have been destroying Ukraine.
Some more background
The first year of the full-scale invasion led to a 50% decrease in demand [Source]. Shelling in Kharkiv has led to a backlog due to limited electricity and a shortage of qualified personnel [Source].
In terms of operations, within 2022:
From the start of the full scale invasion to April 25th of 2024, the Russians have damaged 1062 cultural heritage sites [Source]:
Specifically, architectural and urban planning sites comprise 316 objects, architecture – 307, historical– 226, architecture and urban planning, historical – 61, archaeology – 56, architecture, historical – 39, monumental art – 21, urban planning and monumental-decorative art – 19, architecture, monumental art – 7, urban planning – 5, science and technology, architecture – 2, architecture and monumental art – 1, architecture, garden and park art – 1; architecture and garden and park art – 1.
From that same period of time, Russians damaged 1987 cultural institutions (324 destroyed) [Source].
"In total, the following have been affected: – Creative hubs: 958 – Libraries: 708 – Art education institutions: 153 – Museums and galleries: 114 – Theaters, cinemas, and philharmonic halls: 36 – Parks, zoos, reserves: 15 – Circuses: 3"
There is also this interactive map of the book ecosystem in Ukraine:
Links:
Oleksiy Hrushevsky. Ukrain's printing companies suffer 40% capacity cuts after Russian attack on Kharkiv printing house. Online.ua.
Russian army attacks printing house in Kharkiv causing injury and death – UPDATED. Chytomo.
Олеся Дерзська. Як ракетний удар по «Фактор-Друк» вдарить по книгоіндустрії? Speka.
Factor Group of companies on Facebook.
Yuliya Orlova on Facebook. [Vivat CEO]
Vivat on Facebook. Книгарка Vivat on Telegram.
Sergey Polituchiy on Facebook.
Over 50,000 books destroyed and three publishers affected in Russian strike on Kharkiv printing house. Ukrains'ka Pravda.
Тетяна Леонова. «Українці — не варвари, ми не палимо книжки»: Олена Рибка, шеф-редакторка видавництва Vivat
автор. Nakypilo.
Анна М’ясникова. Харківська друкарня після обстрілу. Фоторепортаж. Nakypilo.
On the Ukrainian publishing industry:
[Dec. 2022] The State of the Ukrainian Book Publishing Sector During Wartime. Ukraine World.
[23.12.2022] Anastasia Zagorui & Oksana Khmeliovska. 9 months of invasion: how Ukrainian publishers work in times of war. Chytomo.
[12.08.2022] Anastasia Zagorui. How Ukrainian publishers work during the war. Chytomo.
[12.02.2024] Iryna Baturevych. The Ukrainian Publishing Market 2023: “Competition has reached unprecedented levels”. Chytomo. (old poll, but gives some perspective).
[06.05.2024] Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Due to russian aggression in Ukraine, 1062 cultural heritage sites have been affected.
[02.05.2024] Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. 1987 cultural infrastructure objects have been damaged or destroyed due to russian aggression.
[April 2023] A Brief Overview of the Ukrainian Publishing Sector : Supporting Ukrainian Publishing Resilience and Recovery (SUPRR).
[Oct 2023] Ukraine’s book business during war: Ukrainians want to read their own, but Russia may enter the market again. Rubryka.
[April 2024] Against all odds: How Ukrainian book publishing navigates challenges of war. Rubryka.
[04.04.2024] The constant shelling of Kharkiv leads to major backlog for Ukrainian books-in-print. Chytomo.
Interactive map:
Interactive map of the Ukrainian book ecosystem. Ukrainian Book Institute.
Thanks for reading, this turned out to be a super long post.
