Oleg Tabakov: You can’t beat art by hand

Artistic Director of the Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov Oleg Tabakov made a statement in defense of the production of Wagner’s opera Tangeyer at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater and its author, director Timofei Kulyabin, to whom the prosecutor's office started the case of desecration of religious reverence.

Last week, according tothe statement of the Metropolitan of Novosibirsk and Berdsky Tikhon, administrative cases against Kulyabin and the director of the theater Boris Mezdrich were instituted , and the Investigative Committeebegan checking the “Tanneser” under a criminal article on freedom of conscience and religious associations.

“I have not seen the performance, however, like those who complained about him to the prosecutor's office. - writes Oleg Tabakov on the MHT page on Facebook. “But the very fact of initiating a criminal case about a work of art, no matter how controversial and ambiguous it may not cause anxiety.”

The head of the Moscow Art Theater says that the artist has the right to error, that "you can’t beat art by hand."

“You cannot threaten criminal articles for performances, books, paintings, music. Hence one step to burning books on fire, ”Tabakov believes. - The freedom of creativity is the same absolute value as the freedom of religion. Censorship in any manifestation - state or church - is dangerous. <...> I urge you to stop the injury to the director and theater. "