Ukrainian teenagers living in one of the temporarily occupied cities, where Russians massively destroyed books in local libraries, have founded a secret book club under the risk of persecution and even imprisonment, where they gather to discuss Ukrainian literature. Families of family enthusiasts may also suffer, as Russians can deprive parents of parental rights for such actions. British writer Peter Pomerantsev and Ukrainian author Alina Dykhman spoke about this in an interview with The Guardian on March 22.
The secret book club meets in apartments. Beforehand, the members carefully check whether the windows are tightly closed and whether a spy hiding nearby could expose their activities.
For security reasons, the names of those involved and the city where the Ukrainian book club is organized are not disclosed in the publication. Mariia, a 17-year-old girl, founded the book organization.
Young Ukrainians must be very careful and inventive in finding the needed literature. In the face of the virtual absence of paper books, they have devised a way out: they search for sources on the Internet, work through electronic versions, and then carefully “clean up” their search histories.
The teenagers do this for a reason: the local occupation authorities sometimes confiscate digital devices from the Ukrainian population to check them for signs of viewing “extremist” content.
The Guardian article also states that parents who allow their children to study under a Ukrainian online program in an occupied city may lose their parental rights. Another danger is that many informants disclose information to Russian special services.
