TALLINN, Estonia – A Russian court on Monday opened the trial of a theater director and a playwright accused of advocating terrorism in a play, the latest step in a relentless crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Russia. Ukraine.
Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been imprisoned for more than a year. Authorities say his play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” justifies terrorism, which is a crime in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. Berkovich and Petriychuk have repeatedly rejected the accusations against them.
Berkovich told the court on Monday that he staged the play to prevent terrorism, and Petriychuk echoed his sentiment, saying he wrote it to prevent events like those depicted in the play.
The women’s lawyers stressed in pre-trial hearings that the play was supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture and won the Golden Mask award, Russia’s most prestigious national theater award. In 2019, the play was read to inmates at a women’s prison in Siberia, and Russia’s state prison service praised it on its website, Petriychuk’s lawyer said.
The case against Berkovich and Petriychuk sparked outrage in Russia. An open letter in support of the two artists, initiated by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has been signed by more than 16,000 people since their arrest. The piece, the letter argued, “carries an absolutely clear anti-terrorism sentiment.”
Dozens of Russian actors, directors and journalists also signed statements urging the court to release the two from custody pending investigation and trial.
Immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin unleashed a sweeping campaign of repression unparalleled since the Soviet era. It effectively criminalized any criticism of the war, with authorities targeting not only prominent opposition figures who ended up receiving draconian prison sentences, but also anyone who spoke out against it, publicly or otherwise.
Pressure also increased on critical artists in Russia. Actors and directors were fired from state theaters and musicians were blacklisted from performing in the country. Some have been given the “foreign agent” label, which carries additional government scrutiny and strong negative connotations. Many left Russia.
Berkovich, who is raising two adopted daughters, refused to leave Russia and continued working with his independent theater production in Moscow called Soso’s Daughters. Shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, she organized an anti-war picket and was imprisoned for 11 days.
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