April 09, 2019, 00:47 / Opinions

Why the release of Serebrennikov is not yet a thaw

Replacing house arrest with a written undertaking not to leave is only a small victory of common sense over repressive logic

Oleg Zintsov

Today is not a day, but an extravaganza, the Moscow public is rejoicing. It is true that it will not be possible to continue the quotation: a complete analogy with the famous quatrain of 1953 - “GUM opened, Beria closed and Chukovskaya was published” - is not observed today. But the Moscow public is really rejoicing: by noon on April 8, friends on Facebook, and not only theater ones, were vying with each other to share one big and joyful news: they were released!

To put it in official language, the Moscow City Court granted the defense’s appeal to extend the house arrest of the defendants in the Seventh Studio case, accused of embezzling funds allocated for the Platform project - artistic director of the Gogol Center Kirill Serebrennikov, former general director of the autonomous non-profit organization Seventh studio" Yuri Itin and the director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sofia Apfelbaum, who worked in the Ministry of Culture during the "Platform" period. Everyone was released on their own recognizance, everyone will be able to return to work.

Although Serebrennikov did not stop working: after his arrest on May 23, 2017, he produced two performances at the Gogol Center (“Little Tragedies”, nominated for the Golden Mask Award, and the very recent “Baroque”), the ballet “Nureyev” at the Bolshoi Theater (nominated for the Golden Mask) and the film Summer, shown in competition at the most prestigious world film festival - Cannes.

Officials at various levels, attending high-profile premieres of the arrested director, spoke out to the effect that they had nothing against contemporary art, and that the rest would be sorted out by the court.

The court decided. For example, was Serebrennikov’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” actually staged or was it simply a dream for numerous spectators and reviewers who described it in detail? Or why does the theater need a piano? In general, there was something to listen to and marvel at - and theater people and journalists attended the meetings of the Basmanny, Meshchansky and Moscow City Courts as if they were attending premieres. Hoping for a miracle and leaving the hall with downturned faces every time. Miracles did not happen, all the arguments of the defense were lost in the sand, the analogies with the theater of the absurd the further, the more they seemed to be on duty. A sigh of relief was caused only by the transfer from the pre-trial detention center to house arrest of the former general producer of the Seventh Studio, Alexei Malobrodsky, who suffered the most.

It was a small victory for humanity (Malobrodsky’s health caused serious concern). Now there has been a small victory of common sense over repressive logic. After all, it is absolutely clear to everyone that Serebrennikov, Itin and Apfelbaum cannot escape abroad (without international passports) or influence witnesses (already questioned by the court), so why extend house arrest? And finally, someone up there changed their mind and said: okay, that’s enough.

It is clear that the “Seventh Studio” case did not dissipate like a bad dream and the verdict will be passed - this is how the system works. It is clear that jubilation can easily give way to shock. That today it’s not spring or even a thaw. So it started to rain again. But the fact that under this rain three people can again go wherever they want - along their favorite alleys, to the theater, to see friends - is in any case a reason for joy. And even, what’s more, for an extravaganza.