Theater on Lubyanka

The Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Originum and the fight against terrorism of the FSB entrusted with the operational support of the “Seventh Studio” case, according to which the artistic director of the Gogol Center Kirill Serebrennikov is taking place. RBC reports with reference to sources familiar with the progress of business and close to the special service.

Employees of the so-called 2nd Service of the FSB connected to work in the case after searches and the first detentions, the sources of the publication said. Now it is this unit that provides operational work on the "seventh studio". Employees of the special services check the connections and contacts of the defendants in the case.

The main task of the 2nd Service of the FSB is “Operational support for the activities of the Ministry of Culture”, a source close to the department noted. "Theaters, museums are in the view of the field of the defense of the constitutional system. There are highly qualified specialists who understand what culture and art are. I myself was the deputy head of the department, who was engaged in the curator of theaters, exhibitions. Understanding the specifics was absolute," the former head of the Center for Public Relations of the FSB Alexander Mikhailov. "The service is engaged in international and international and internships inter -religious conflicts, extremism.

At the same time, Mikhailov emphasizes that the participation of the special services in the investigation does not indicate that the authorities perceive the case of the “seventh studio” as political. “There is no ideology there,” said the ex -head of the Central Department Store.

Serebrennikov was detained on the night of August 22, after other defendants in the case, and the 23rd was placed under house arrest in Moscow. Under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code (fraud on an especially large scale), the director threatens up to 10 years in the colony.

According to the plot of the case, in 2011-2014, the Ministry of Culture allocated to Serebrennikov over 214 million rubles for the implementation of the Platform project, launched for the development and popularization of contemporary art. To implement the project, the director formed an autonomous non -profit organization "Seventh Studio".

According to the investigation, Serebrennikov gave other defendants an indication of overstating data on the quantity and cost of events. In addition, the director, according to the TFR, instructed to ensure the conclusion of the Seventh Studio with firms and private entrepreneurs controlled by him, including one-day companies, and fictitious contracts for the implementation of the Platform project. The funds transferred under these agreements were allegedly cashed and distributed by Serebrennikov between the defendants.

The total amount of theft, which was charged to the director and other accused, is, according to the TFR, at least 68 million rubles. Serebrennikov does not plead guilty.

In defense of Serebrennikov are Russian and foreign cultural and organization figures. The playwright and director Ivan Vyrypaev called for a boycott of power .