OREANDA-NEWS. September 05, 2012. The Government supports the development of book publishing in Ukraine, including the publication of books in Ukrainian. It was declared by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov at a meeting with the famous Ukrainian writer Andriy Kurkov.

"There is much talk about what we supposedly infringe upon Ukrainian language. However, I know very well the real situation in the past 10 years and I can clearly say that only for years of Viktor Yanukovych's Government work and now when I chair the Government, we allocate appropriate funds to develop Ukrainian culture in times more than during all of the most nationalistic governments. In 2012 against 2011, growth of the number of printed copies of publications in Ukrainian language makes 165%," Mykola Azarov said.

He also added that in 2012, if to compare with last year, there has been increased circulation of fiction as twice.

According to the Prime Minister, a record number of books have been printed this year - 16 million (including textbooks), of which about half are in Ukrainian. "It's not enough. One third of a book is for every Ukrainian citizen, but at the same time, it's twice as much as in 2011," said the Prime Minister.