On October 12, Russian investigators applied to Moscow’s Basmanny court to extend house arrest for the renowned director and other people involved in the criminal case.
Photo: Vladislav Nikitenko
The court said it would consider the request on October 17. Pretrial restrictions are currently applied to Kirill Serebrennikov, the founder of the Seventh Studio and Gogol Centre theatre, Aleksei Malobrodsky, Gogol Centre’s ex-director who is now in custody, as well as the Seventh Studio’s former general director Yuri Itin and former chief accountant Nina Maslyayeva who recently agreed to a plea bargain with the prosecution.
They are charged with embezzling at least 68 million rubles the state gave for the Platform theatre project. Details can be found here. None of the defendants except for Maslyayeva admit their guilt.
Colta.ru writes that many cultural figures and organisations in Russia and other countries, including the Theatre Critics Association, Gidon Kremer, Ivan Vyrypayev, Ian McKellen, the European Film Academy, the European Cultural Parliament and others, showed support for the director and other people involved in the Seventh Studio case. Over 1,300 people have signed an open letter from young Russian cultural figures, more than 100 people have joined a committee set up in France to support Kirill Serebrennikov.
Subscribe to our mailing list: