Films no longer have to be dubbed or subtitled into Ukrainian

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ukraine-ditches-controversial-dubbing-regulations-35092

MOSCOW -- The lifting of controversial dubbing regulations in Ukraine is likely to benefit Russian distributors.

Earlier this week, Ukraine's culture and tourism minister, Mikhail Kulinyaka, told reporters in Kiev that a regulation requiring that all movies slated for a theatrical release in the country, should be either dubbed or subtitled into Ukrainian, is no longer in force.

The regulation, which came into effect in early 2008, created a lot of controversy, especially in Ukraine's predominantly Russian-speaking eastern part, hitting those distributors which until then used Russian-language film copies. A few theaters even went on strike, protesting against the regulation, and there were reports about some theaters going out of business.

Now, Russian distributors operating in Ukraine will be able to save costs by again using Russian-language film copies. "There is a lot of Russian interest in the country, and what this is all about is re-distribution of revenues," Ukrainian television producer Igor Kondratyuk told Kommersant-Ukraine.