The publishing house «Markobook» has quickly gained recognition in Ukraine. It was founded by Marko Melnyk, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war and a former volunteer soldier.
Mark's passion for literature began, as he recounts, during his school years when he published a school newspaper, and later, while studying at university, he edited a student newspaper. Following that was the Revolution of Dignity, Maidan. Marko Melnyk organized self-defense in his city and became a hundredman.
The new episode of the YouTube project “Kashтан. Business” discusses the veteran and publisher, his passions, and entrepreneurial activities.
After that came his front-line biography during the Anti-Terrorist Operation, where his long-standing interest resurfaced. In the Azov battalion, he published the “First Frontline Journal,” while simultaneously collecting materials for future books. After leaving military service in 2016, Marko already had a suitcase full of manuscripts ready for publication.
Notably, the first series of books was titled “Azov Memories.”
5 “These were memories from both my comrades and myself,” says Melnyk. “I wrote a book about our service and the military activities at that time. The years 2014 – 2015 were quite tumultuous, so there were plenty of facts and details to cover. I found it extremely interesting to describe all of this, share impressions with readers, and showcase our combat experience, the immense energy and motivation we had. I believe it is very important to motivate our compatriots for the ongoing struggle until victory.”
It was fascinating to hear from Mr. Mark about how the publishing house began and how it got on its feet. He registered the company and obtained a publishing license. However, that was not enough. The crucial factor was financing. Here’s how Melnyk explains it:
6 “I took funds for this endeavor from my injury compensation, plus my comrades from the veterans’ organization of the Azov regiment helped. And that’s how a small publishing house started. We formed a small team. Initially, not everything went smoothly for various reasons. Eventually, I closed my first project and began working independently as a publisher. I personally sent orders, edited, and designed the books. Today, there are about ten people involved in the book production process at the publishing house.”
7 The year 2022 proved to be quite challenging for publisher Melnyk. After the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion, he had to pause publishing activities and retrain: some of Marko's comrades became military personnel, while others volunteered in the publishing office in the capital's Bessarabia.
“It was here that we opened a volunteer center and provided substantial support to the Defense Forces, the units protecting Kyiv and the Kyiv region from the Rashists. We distributed books from the publishing house's stock to people. The pressing task was to hold the capital. Business matters had to wait for a while,” recalls the interviewee.
A new phase of publishing activities began when the Ukrainian Veteran Fund stepped in to finance several print runs of the most popular books from “Markobook.”
8 “We started supplying them again to bookstores, generating profits, and the business was restored. We began to generate revenue for publishing new books, and since then we have published several dozen new titles.”
What does “Markobook” focus on? Promoting the victorious ideology of Ukraine.
“Today, the book ‘Ukrainian Nationalism. Foundations of Ideology’ is the best seller,” says Marko Melnyk. “It accounts for more than half of our sales.”
Historical books about Colonel of the UNR, Petro Bolbachan, who commanded the operation to liberate Crimea from the Bolsheviks a century ago, are also quite popular.
9 Did success come to “Markobook” right away? No. The publisher candidly shares this as well. However, Melnyk and his colleagues forged their own path, diligently working towards widespread recognition. Their focus includes thematic areas such as memoirs, ideology, and history. According to Mark, these books are essential for the survival of the Ukrainian nation.
“These are the knowledge and insights that shape the Ukrainian worldview, enabling us to counter Russian pseudo-culture. These ideologies, information, and knowledge help us form a genuine, pure Ukrainian worldview based on sound principles, free of any destructive elements,” explains the publisher. “We need to be Ukrainians in our consciousness to endure this terrible calamity and emerge victorious from this war.”
Melnyk states that after 2014, when he first experienced war, he came to understand life differently. New meanings emerged, and he gained insight into many processes, making life feel more intense. His priorities shifted, leading him to focus on Ukrainian ideology through book publishing.
0 Our interviewee emphasizes:
“A turning point in the domestic book industry was the ban on Russian books. Many people realized that there is Ukrainian literature, countering the previous notion that there were few Ukrainian authors. People used to ask why we needed Ukrainian books when there were so many Russian ones available for any taste. It turned out that this was completely untrue. Ukrainian publishing is very powerful; it has fully replaced the need for Russian books, and today we hardly feel any discomfort from the absence of Russian literature in Ukrainian networks.”
Marko shares that there are various situations that arise during the process of publishing a book. For example, the book about a forest ranger-scout from the “Right Sector” took five years to complete due to several significant reasons, one being the challenges in publishing certain authors for security reasons, as they lived in occupied territories.
1 However, if a book is written and only requires proofreading, editing, layout, and printing, its release can take a few months.
Melnyk mentioned that he searched for a writer to create a book about the Islamic State, believing this topic to be very relevant and necessary.
“Circumstances aligned such that one of my acquaintances had already written this book but hadn’t published it for some reason. We published it, and it became our most popular book at that time. Later, it was seen on the desk of the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Today, it sells very well and contains relevant and useful knowledge in the military sphere,” says Marko Melnyk.
Watch in the new episode of the YouTube project “Kashтан. Business” for