"Before the law, all the guavna"

How the state arranges snippings in the form of laws and why culture is the first to get there

In vain, or something, today in theaters they again began to put “three bags of weed wheat” according to the story of Vladimir Tendryakov? Hide three grains bags in the war in order to prevent people from starving, and pay for this life, because the slogan “Everything for the front! All for victory! " He did not spare human lives - well, it would seem, how is it relevant and still?

But look. Yesterday they detained Alexei Malobrodsky, the former director of the Gogol Center. Prior to this, the general director of the Seventh Studio Yuri Itin and accountant Nina Maslyaeva were detained. Itin - under house arrest, Maslyaev - in jail. (Why a middle -aged sick woman, suspected of embezzlement of 1.2 million rubles, should wait for the trial in the cell - this is a separate topic, and it is impossible to understand the logic of it there.) What will happen to Malobrodsky - it’s not yet clear.

Alexey Malobrodsky, former director of Gogol Center Photo: Natalia Krasilnikova/PhotoxPress.ru

Let's right away: whether Alexei, Yuri and Nina are to blame - now it doesn’t matter, no matter how outrageous it sounds. Because it is almost impossible to survive against the most powerful state machine that grinds day after day. In our country, which is heartily proud of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Tchaikovsky, it so happened that the state drove the culture into prison, where only the strongest, the most cunning and the most impudent can survive.

The state has driven a culture to prison, where only the strongest, the most cunning and the most arrogant can survive

Eleven years ago, the monstrous 94th Federal Law (FZ-94, subsequently renamed the 44th, but not lost its essence), which hit the quality of our lives, but the most painful in culture was adopted. When they say to you: “By law, you must choose the services of those suppliers who will cost you the cheaper”, you must either be prepared for the fact that you will have to buy a rotten product, or look for a loophole in this very law. And it is possible that, as the hero of the Tendryakov story, you will have to climb into this loophole, trampling the spirit and letter of the law along the way, but saving something immeasurably more.

Former chief accountant of the Theater Company "Seventh Studio" Nina Maslyaeva, detained in the case of the theft from the emitting of budgetary funds of the photo: Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

And in a whisper, between us: what-someone seriously believes that there is at least one state institution of culture, which, risking the freedom of its leaders, does not seek a loophole in this, so to say, law? Any person who has at least some kind of attitude towards culture comes in sobs, hearing the words “94th federal law”.

If you see a restored historical mansion (not miraculously demolished), on the gates of which now instead of graceful marble lions-dull animals from unknown crumbling material, know: this is the result of a tender, as a result of which the most cheap provider of services won the 94th federal law. But if you want the lions of your mansion and after the restoration to look the same elegant lions, you will have to whether you want it or not, show the state a figure out of your pocket.

That part of the Russian culture that is financed by the state - all, without exception, without exception, you have to hide the same three bags of weed wheat, save it from the father of the native - the state in order to preserve the main thing - the culture and people itself in it. Every leader of the state culture institution every second of his life is faced with a choice: to be a true law or to be a true culture. Figuratively speaking - to preserve marble lions, bypassing the law, or changing them to gypsum freaks, but in compliance with the law.

This legal state is governing. The state of human and legality is manipulates the punying of human rights and the rule of law.

The rule of law comes up with severe laws, but considers it his duty to help society fulfill them. The puny state also invents severe laws, but helps only those structures that catch the stumbled.

The legal state vigilantly monitors the fulfillment of the law, the puny - only for non -fulfillment. That's the whole difference.

Every head of the state culture institution every second is faced with a choice: to be a true law or be a true culture

The course is marvelous in its simplicity: to invent laws that can only be fulfilled with the risk of ruining the case, and from time to time as an acute to cling to the hook at their discretion of those who are tired of something, and, like a fish on coastal grass, throw them in a pre-trial detention center. Depending on the mood and the situation, you can then let go of the “fish”, or you can dry it.

Former General Director of the Theater Company "Seventh Studio" Yuri Itin, detained in the case of the theft from the emitting from the budget funds allocated by Alexanderbak/TASS

We will not build conspiracy theories now-against whom the “Gogol Center” case is directed ”and under whom law enforcement officers dig. Probably, soon among the defendants, Sergey Kapkov, the former head of the Moscow Culture Department, could be: it was he who brought the Gogol Theater Kirill Serebrennikov to the then theater, and it was under his patronage that the Gogol Center began to work. Maybe they dig under him, and maybe under whom it is higher, or maybe “just” near Serebrennikov, who has long annoyed the authorities, greatly knocking out his style from the team of state theaters - both production and political views. It may turn out that the detention of Serebrennikov close to the work of people is only a finger pointing to the door: Come on, Vali from Russia - then you will let go. But against whom these body movements were directed, in any case it is a dig to culture.

Culture is the most vulnerable field of activity of society. It does not give profit, the ideological support from it is quite shaky, it is inhabited by people sometimes obstinate and noisy. Therefore, when problems of an irreversible nature begin in the state - for the appearance of efforts to save the country, you should begin with culture. This is not dangerous: it is unrequited and defenseless, but for a cowardly state it is very important. Culture is a convenient opponent: there will be no proper rebuke on its part, since there is nothing to answer especially, and a fat proud show in the report on the fight against corruption can be put. This is the behavior of the smallest gopnik from the gateway, stinging children, but passing real gopniks. And that is true: who is the hunt for the snout?

It is cultural institutions that are the first to throw out from good buildings on good land. Over the past few years alone, under the guise of fighting financial violations, the Gallery "House of Nashchokin" was thrown out. They kicked out the research Institute of Cinema, defeated the Institute of Cultural Studies from the mansion, arranged a large-scale action with riot police in the center of the Roerichs-of course, for the sake of the building in the center, they were reduced by a third and also thrown out of the historical center of the Culture TV channel.

It is joyful, of course, that the state took up scammers and corrupt officials. Probably, now everything will be honest with us, as in adults, we do not need to explain that Russian corrupt officials dug in the Gogol Center, the Roerich Center on the Culture channel. The checkers are hung!

And why did I suddenly remember the case of the dawn of my journalistic activity, when I was almost fired from the newspaper for a typo in the title - “Before the law are all the guards”?

Gogol Center Culture