Question of the day: will the artists show solidarity with Kirill Serebrennikov?

As you know, the verdict to Kirill Serebrennikov and other persons involved in the case of Studio 7 accused of embezzlement of money allocated for the Paltform project will be announced in the Meshchansky court of Moscow on June 26. The court has already heard the debate of the parties, during which the defense asked for an acquittal, and the prosecutor's office for a guilty verdict. The prosecutor asks Serebrennikov to be sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony, fined 800 thousand rubles, and also to ban him from holding administrative and economic positions in cultural institutions for three years. Producer Alexei Malobrodsky faces 5 years in prison, Yuri Itin and Sofya Apfelbaum - 4 years each.

At the last meeting, Kirill Serebrennikov uttered the last word, in which, inter alia, he said:

“I am sorry that PLATFORM became a fateful moment in fate for my comrades in litigation. I am not at all sorry that I devoted the years of my life to the development of art in Russia, even if it was connected with difficulties, with persecution, with slander. I never did anything to the detriment of living beings, I never committed dishonest acts. I worked in Moscow, in Russia for many years, I put on many performances, I made several films, I tried to be useful to the people of my country. I am proud of every day that I dedicated to my work in Russia. Including those days when I did the PLATFORM project...

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This process could not but cause a violent reaction of the cultural community of Russia. Hundreds of artists, directors, writers, poets, journalists signed an appeal to the Ministry of Culture of Russia, demanding to intervene in the proceedings. In addition, in their blogs, Russian celebrities are trying to awaken in the colleagues Serebrennikov a sense of guild solidarity.

For example, the poet and publicist Lev Rubinstein writes :

“This is the current prosecutor’s initiative in the context of the“ Theater Case ”, which is dragging away like a flu-like dream, all of these“ experts ”shook out from the sleeve of the judicial robes, memorizing diligently memorized names, meaning and meanings of which they themselves do not know and they don’t understand (and why), all this, God forgive me, Laundry, where even though they changed the manager to the manager, as she was a shameful, mean and dense office, it remains so ...

That’s all, I think, does the so-called “cultural community” or at least its theatrical segment somehow push away from the quarantine doze?

Interestingly, theatrical, artistic, musical, literary people will remember, delving into a thoroughly lazy memory, that there was once such a word as "solidarity", and that it, this word, once even meant something like that?

In short, dear friends and colleagues, there is a question to all of you (of us!): will we remain grieving and even nobly angry witnesses of the next vile, impudent, and, what is of the most importance, quite demonstrative lawlessness, or will the word "solidarity" take at least any material and visual forms?”

He is echoed by composer and pianist Anton Batagov:

“Friends, colleagues. Here's the thing. I think that any independent artist can simply cancel all his performances in Russia and declare that he will not go on stage in Russia until all the persons involved in this case are acquitted with an apology. But it is not so simple. For example, I am an independent musician. I have neither an orchestra, nor an ensemble, and my joint projects are free collaboration. But this is the musical world, and all the actors do not exist on their own, but in various bands, and this is a very complex mechanism, which, unfortunately, depends on the same laundry. And this is the problem. How to make the whole creative community come together? I dont know. Somebody knows?"

Actress Ksenia Rapoport writes: “Perhaps one of the most disgusting and difficult experiences in life is the feeling of powerlessness in front of an obvious injustice in front of your eyes. None of our words, appeals, sureties, letters, or posts have any effect. Everyone who followed this process had the opportunity to see how over the course of these almost three years, before our very eyes, the accusation was falling apart and showing its complete failure. Denial of facts. Without any argument, the previous examination was discarded and the appointment of new obscure experts. Witnesses who openly declared in court that they were under pressure, that they testified under threats. Even with the amount of "theft" they could not decide. But all this was rejected by the judge. Again without any arguments. Beautiful honest, talented and courageous people - Kirill Serebrennikov, Alexey Malobrodsky, Sofia Apfelbaum, Yuri Itin, who have done so much to develop the culture of our country. It should not, it cannot be! This is terribly unfair! ”

And human rights activist Zoya Svetova recalls the historical precedent of this kind of artistic solidarity that occurred relatively recently:

“Oleg Dorman remembered an excellent story about how Polish actors announced a boycott of the authorities because of the imposition of martial law and refused to appear on television. The boycott began in January 1982, after the introduction of martial law (12/13/1981). Actors played in their theaters, acted in films, but did not participate in television production: no one went to any television programs, television programs, then shows, no one played in new television shows. In a word, the complete boycott of television.

And this was noticeable: solid archival films and television plays of the 60s and 70s went on TV, because there weren’t new ones - the actors refused to star. Now, if Russian artists came up with something like that. It would be adequate to the war that the people of the Russian theater announced today through the mouth of the state prosecutor, proposing to put Kirill Serebrennikov and others for long terms..."