How the Cossacks banned Lolita

A one-man show based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita", which was supposed to take place on October 21 at the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg, was canceled due to an appeal from moral guardians.

In an open letter to the museum’s management, five Cossacks and five Russian citizens (two primary school teachers and three students) call Nabokov’s work “a vile work under the guise of art” and do not recommend the museum to cooperate with the leading actor, Leonid Mozgov, because he portrayed Hitler a positive hero in the film of the “famous propagandist of sodomy” Alexander Sokurov.

Actor Mozgovoy reacted decisively to insults addressed to Nabokov and Sokurov: he refused to go on stage and stated that he did not want to “tease the geese” and argue with the “cattle” who insulted him, the great director, and the great novel.

The public reaction also followed immediately: Protodeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church Andrei Kuraev, for example, stated that “this kind of letter rather disgraces the church and the Cossacks” and that he regrets that “in Nabokov’s filigree text the Cossacks saw only “this.”

PublicPost studied what was written about the situation with “Lolita” in blogs, and also found out the details of what was happening from the organizer of the performance and a representative of the St. Petersburg Cossacks.

Opinions of the parties

Artem Suslov , one of the organizers of the performance and opposition poet, famous for the Eurovision lawsuit

The museum and I, as the organizer, received an e-mail with an attachment - the same letter from the Cossacks. We decided not to let this matter proceed, not to advertise it, we decided that we could manage with the museum’s resources and be able to ensure security. The next day the letter already appeared in the press, apparently because it had no effect on us. We tried to find the Cossacks who signed this letter, and did not find them. We are sure that these people simply do not exist in nature. I can’t even guess who benefits from this scandal. As for the accusations against us, they are completely groundless: we lost money, almost all the tickets were returned to us, only two were not returned. And if this was our insidious plan (as journalists from Fontanka.ru suggested), then we would have warned Leonid Mozgovoy, but he learned about everything from the press and was very offended. Director Sokurov, with whom we communicate, is also very upset - not for himself, for St. Petersburg.

Igor Rimmer, representative of the St. Petersburg Cossacks, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg of the second, third and fourth convocations

Of the Cossacks who applied, I heard the names of Granin and Martynov, but I cannot say whether they signed this letter. In general, the situation now is not simple: the church plays a serving role in the state, but this is one of the branches of government. We also don’t have a national unifying idea. This is how things like this happen. Of course, I don’t support the speakers, but I can’t condemn them either. Nabokov is undoubtedly a great Russian writer. But some may like his works, but others may not. And I believe that everyone has the right to express their opinion, so I don’t judge them.

Photo: US Random House, New York

Bloggers' opinions

Bloggers reacted differently to the disruption of the performance: some, like actor Stanislav Sadalsky, are calling on St. Petersburg artists to cancel their productions and concerts for at least one day and thereby support the creators of Lolita . Others, following the journalists of the online newspaper Fontanka.ru, say that no Cossack signatories actually exist and that such PR can be beneficial, first of all, to the organizers of the performance themselves.

Andrey Malgin, journalist, critic, blogger : It is no coincidence that the fight against “harmful” art currently unfolding in the country has acquired its most open forms in St. Petersburg. The first victims are things that “offend the feelings of believers,” “promote homosexuality,” and “have a harmful effect on children.” If this is not given a worthy rebuff now, the list of criteria for determining “harmfulness” will expand.

Alexander Timofeevsky, journalist : The story of the cancellation of “Lolita” in St. Petersburg raises a lot of questions. What kind of beast are the “St. Petersburg Cossacks”? When did they raid the shelter of a wretched Chukhon and by what right do they rule there? This is not the Krasnodar region. And why did Leonid Mozgovoy heed their requests and cancel the performance? There is a version that this is all a joke, a fake, and the St. Petersburg Cossacks are completely made up. On the other hand, all modern Cossacks are in some sense fictitious, they are a joke of humor and a fake, but extremely effective: exhibitions are being disrupted one after another. And how can we resist this fake – going to a demonstration wearing an “I am Lolita” T-shirt? This is the whole hopelessness of the modern macabre: opposition is as parodic as action.

Alexander Aberdeen, science fiction writer: Really, I’m not delighted with Nabokov’s Lolita. In the end, this book describes vice in detail, and I don’t like that the writer spent so much time on it and described everything in such detail. However, Nabokov merely revealed the inner world of his characters and acted as a mirror, reflecting in the book what already exists in life. Films have been made based on Nabokov's "Lolita" and theater productions have been staged. This is all art, but the reaction of the so-called Orthodox Cossacks is an action from a completely different opera, which smacks of the gray and medieval stupidity of the inquisitors. However, what outrages me most of all is the St. Petersburg “tramp” itself, which is simply some kind of serpentarium of poisonous reptiles that should be kept under lock and key, since they are dangerous to common sense.

Svyatoslav Shevchenko , priest, head of the public relations department of the Annunciation diocese: In my subjective opinion, the second act of an all-Russian media performance to discredit the Russian Orthodox Church is being played out before us. Before our eyes, professional manipulators shape public opinion in the direction they want. Soon there will be indignant cries for the return of the Inquisition.

Stanislav Senkin , author of books on social and Orthodox topics : Kuraev is wrong - those people who, hiding behind the Cossacks, oppose freedom, do not disgrace the Russian Orthodox Church. How can you compromise her more than the priests and Patriarch Kirill did?! They dishonor the very glorious name of the Cossacks, the prowess of their ancestors and trample on their highest value, as well as the value of all worthy people living on this planet - freedom.

fastrain : The Cossacks have a glorious history. Historically, Cossacks settled along the borders, which they protected from neighboring states unfriendly to Russia. The Cossacks covered themselves with glory on the battlefields. In addition, they were engaged in the development of uninhabited lands, expanding state boundaries. They were brave warriors and brave travelers. And now a completely new variety of Cossacks has appeared. Cossack art critics, lovers of the epistolary genre. They have discarded the stupid Old Testament traditions and are boldly settling in the capitals. They are not attracted to the harsh everyday life of paramilitary life. Give them museums and theaters for feats of arms. The Cossacks did well.

dryashin : Where did the Cossacks suddenly come from in Leningrad, and what did they lose in the theater and galleries? If you don't like it, don't go. If ideological nymphomaniacs don’t go to churches, and Cossacks don’t go to theaters and exhibitions, everything will work out.

Cossacks - to church and to the stables, girls - to the panel. And don’t let him go anywhere else.

And Twitter users, where the format does not allow speaking at length, as a sign of solidarity with artists and the great writer, fit quotes from the novel into 140 characters:

@Ushakova_Kate : She was Dolores on the dotted line of the forms. But in my arms she was always Lolita. The light of my life. Fire in my loins. My sin. My soul. Lolita.