Russia destroyed the largest printing house in Kharkiv: consequences for Ukrainian book publishing

On May 23, the Russians destroyed the Factor-Druk printing house in Kharkiv. Seven workers of the printing house were killed, another 21 people were injured. In addition, 50,000 books were burned as a result of the Russian attack. Vivat publishing house published a list of destroyed works of Ukrainian and foreign authors.

In addition, the publishing house noted that “Faktor-druk” is one of the largest full-cycle printing complexes in Europe, so almost all Ukrainian publishers printed here.

A Russian rocket hit the roof of a bookbinding shop. As a result, unique equipment burned and the building was destroyed. The total losses amounted to about six million euros.

“It was a blow to culture — to the very heart of Ukrainian book publishing. To that part of culture, which essentially creates narratives that make up the national idea and the national spirit,” commented Serhii Polituchy, president of the Factor-Druk holding company, on the attack on the printing press.

Vivat books were printed in polygraphy, as well as “KSD”, “Ranok”, “Folio”, “Swichado”, “Green Dog” and others.

In particular, the Vivat publishing house noted that it will be difficult to predict the circulation for 2024, because “Faktor-Druk” occupied up to 80% of all printed books. At the same time, the total circulation in 2023 was more than 2 million books.

The publishing house noted that they will try to reorient production to other printing houses, but it will not be quick.

Ranok publishing house said that approximately 15-20% of the total circulation was printed on Factor-Druk, the most printed educational literature. Therefore, the priority now is to restore the lost editions and reprint the remaining textbooks at other printing houses.

“These are additional costs, reconfiguration in logistics and loss of time, so we should expect a delay in the release of new editions. In general, the consequences of the destruction of “Faktor-Druk” will be felt for the entire industry, since almost all the leading publishing houses of the country cooperated with this printing house,” commented the general director of “Ranok” publishing house Viktor Kruglov.

According to Viktor Kruglov, the loss of capacity from the destruction of the printing house will amount to 30–40%. Because of this, there may be a queue at other printing houses, prices for printing services will rise and, ultimately, the cost of books will increase. The restoration of “Faktor-Druk” will take a lot of time, which will affect the volume of production and the appearance of new books on the market.

“However, the saddest thing is, of course, that innocent people died, irreplaceable specialists, of whom there are very few in this field,” Viktor added.

Ranok publishing house said that considering the situation in Kharkiv, they cooperated with several printing houses from other regions, but Factor-Druk was one of the main partners. At the time of the attack, the printing house was storing a large number of “German language” textbooks and about 60 tons of paper brought in the day before for printing new books.

In addition to educational literature, several fiction publications were also prepared for children, who were also partially affected. The lost editions will be reprinted elsewhere, the publishing house noted.

“The attack on the printing house “Faktor-Druk” is a deliberate terrorist crime committed in order to cause irreparable damage to the publishing sector and culture in general. And this is just before the most important book festival of the country “Book Arsenal” and shortly before the start of the new school year. This is another serious challenge for our publishing industry, and we will feel its consequences for a long time to come. Therefore, it is now very important to support the country’s book market, to pass the law on book certificates as soon as possible, and to include the publishing business, in particular printing enterprises, among the critical objects. And also buy and read books by Ukrainian publishers,” said the director of Ranok publishing house.

According to Serhiy Polituchy, Ukraine will experience a shortage of school textbooks, and the book publishing market may decrease by 40%, at least until the damaged printing house is restored.

Recovery and new challenges

It takes at least half a year to restore polygraphy, Polituchy noted.

“We plan to restore it completely. Everyone is asking about relocation. It is impossible. Not a single Kharkiv printing house has left and does not plan to do so. Kharkiv is the printing and printing capital, and therefore almost all specialists live here. We love our city, so we don’t want it to decline. Our role is to leave Kharkiv the way we love it, in particular, we can help it stay afloat economically,” he added.

“Vivat” also continues to work in Kharkiv. It has two bookstores here, one of which was opened already during the full-scale invasion.

“Our office – the heart of our company – is also in Kharkiv, our employees go to their workplaces every day in the office, warehouse, and stores, because it is important for them to continue this work – to create the best books. For them, it’s not just work, so for us both stores are our support for the city, citizens and our employees,” the team said.

Also, those who care go to stores and buy more books to support the book publishing business.

“After the tragic news, many visitors came to the bookstore to express words of support. Books from various Ukrainian publishing houses were printed at Factor-Druka, and we saw that some visitors to bookstores looked at the technical page of the books in order to see the place of printing and support the printing house by buying these books. We can also see that many Ukrainians support the printing house with the help of a transfer to a charity collection. We are sincerely grateful for the support of all our readers, partners and friends. This gives us the strength to continue our business even in the most difficult times,” the publishing house added.

At the same time, Gvara Media journalists walked through bookstores in Kharkiv and found out that sales have fallen. According to the employees, this is due to the increase in Russian shelling, the book is not an essential item that can be taken with you. So people are reluctant to take books. However, many who want to help ask how they can donate.

Recently, another bookstore “Family Leisure Club” was opened in Kharkiv. During the two weeks of operation, they have a stable number of visitors who come and buy books, are interested in new products, etc.

The printing house “Faktor-Druk” is the third printing house that suffered in Kharkiv as a result of Russian attacks. Prior to this, the Russian Federation shelled the Folio office, and the Ranok publishing house was also damaged – first their warehouse was fired from Grady, and this spring, an Kh-35 anti-ship missile destroyed the Gurkov and K printing house, where Ranok was also printed.