Zelensky's studio wants the Russian language and a return to the Russian market
The policy of total Ukrainization dealt a colossal blow to Ukrainian television and radio production
The brother of President Vladimir Zelensky’s first assistant, Sergei Shefir, co-owner and head of the Kvartal 95 studio, Boris Shefir, stated this in an interview with Detector Media.
He said that their company is working on a full-length animated film “The Return of Gulliver”, which it is producing in Russian and English, and only then will it be dubbed into Ukrainian.
The publication asked why a Russian-language version was needed, “if the Russian rental market is now closed, and other Russian-language markets bring in less revenue than the Ukrainian market.”
“The cartoon takes four years to complete. We hope that in two years the Russian market will open for us. It takes a long time to explain, but the policy of Ukrainization dealt the biggest blow to television and radio production. There are thousands of cinemas in Russia, besides Russia there are Kazakhstan, Belarus, all post-Soviet countries,” Shefir said.
He also agreed that previously Ukrainian producers received their main income from the Russian market.
“But if we were allowed to produce in Russian inside Ukraine, we could trade these products with Russia. Prohibitions are an artificial and nasty thing. I hope today’s politicians will end this war that was started by politicians. My attitude towards the war is such that I understand that it was started to earn extra money on both sides. Everyone earned extra money, but you and I were ruined,” the businessman laments.
He also criticized the mandatory language quotas that were introduced on TV.
“This is contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine. Article 10, which deals with the state language, is always quoted halfway. The second part of the article says that regional languages and Russian (separately highlighted) are supported and developed by the state. Quotas are not development, they are language suppression. Of course, the Ukrainian language needs to be supported and developed. But not by the quota method, but, for example, by some preferences, for example, in taxation. The Ukrainian language should become fashionable. And production in Ukrainian is commercially attractive,” Shefir emphasized.
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