Fines up to 170 thousand hryvnias for Russian music and language checks: decision of the Verkhovna Rada Committee

The Parliamentary Committee on Humitarian and Information Policy recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt as a basis the bills concerning a ban on Russian musical content in the service sector and an expansion of the scope of the state language.

This was reported by Delo.ua with reference to the press service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The new legislative initiatives introduce a direct ban on songs sung in the language of the aggressor state in cafes, restaurants, shops, and beauty salons. For violating this provision, fines are provided ranging from 8 500 hryvnias for the initial non-compliance and up to 170 000 hryvnias for repeated incidents.

Expansion of language control

Concurrently, the parliamentary committee supported a related bill that improves mechanisms for applying the norms on the state language and provides for:

Expansion of the list of officials and educators for whom the use of Ukrainian is mandatory during official duties;

Acceleration and optimization of procedures for state oversight and consideration of citizen complaints;

Strengthening language requirements in the areas of education, culture, local government, and during election processes.

Deputy chair of the Committee Yevheniia Kravchuk noted that international partners and European Council bodies will be provided in advance with explanations in Ukrainian and English to confirm that the document complies with European standards.

Position on Russian-language content

The introduction of strict financial sanctions is due to the fact that existing legislative restraints do not have effective levers of influence on violators.

Sponsor Oleksandr Sanchenko and Committee head Mykyta Poturayev point to the necessity of creating an effective mechanism to hold violators accountable in order to completely remove Russian musical products from public space.

Support measures for the publishing industry

Due to considerable losses suffered by enterprises as a result of Russian shelling, the Committee has initiated a letter to the Prime Minister about developing an anti-crisis program to support Ukrainian publishers.

Regarding the restoration of the building of the State Scientific Institution “Book Chamber of Ukraine named after Ivan Fedorov,” which was damaged during enemy attacks, the following decisions were made:

To work on amendments to the legislation to clarify the status and functions of the institution;

To send a request to the Cabinet of Ministers regarding funding for urgent repair and restoration works;

To include in the state budget for the 2027 year funds to install a climate control system in the State Printed Archive’s book repository;

To bring the pay conditions of the Book Chamber staff in line with the rates at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian Institute of Books;

To refine the draft resolution on the reorganization of the institution.

Recall that last year it was reported that taxi drivers face fines up to 5 thousand hryvnias for serving customers in Russian if drivers refuse to communicate with passengers in the state language.