The court arrested director Evgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk. What are they accused of?

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+

The Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow on Friday arrested director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk. Both of them are accused of justifying terrorism because of the performance Finist the Clear Falcon, which received two Golden Masks last year. The accusation is based on the expertise of "scientists-destructologists" who saw in the performance signs of justifying terrorism and romanticizing ISIS banned in Russia. At the same time, Petriychuk's play, based on which the performance was staged, was previously positively evaluated by the structures of the Federal Penitentiary Service, and he himself was created on a grant from the Ministry of Culture.

What's happened

Berkovich and Petriychuk were arrested for two months, until 4 July. The defense asked to extend the period of their detention in order to collect additional documents, or to choose a milder measure of restraint. But both the director and the playwright were sent to jail. Although, for example, Berkovich has two adopted daughters , one of whom is not yet 18 years old.

Berkovich and Petriychuk were detained the day before, their houses and the houses of their relatives, including the director's 88-year-old grandmother , were searched. Both women are accused of justifying terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), they face up to seven years in prison.

What are the director and playwright accused of?

The examination, on the basis of which Berkovich and Petriychuk are accused of justifying terrorism, was prepared by "scientists-destructologists." Meduza (recognized in Russia as a foreign agent and undesirable organization) cites excerpts from the conclusion of the “experts”.

Destructology is a "science" that exists only in Russia and was officially introduced less than five years ago. The examination was carried out by the creator of "destructology" Roman Silantiev and two of his colleagues. They studied Petriychuk's play Finist the Bright Falcon, a reading of this play and a video recording of a performance based on it staged by Berkovich.

The "experts" came to the following conclusions:

• the materials contain signs of the ideology of ISIS banned in Russia, as well as the subculture of Russian neophyte Muslim women;
• to promote these ideologies, Petriychuk romanticizes, justifies and glorifies terrorists and their girlfriends, and Berkovich, as a director and author of the play, reinforces these meanings;
• also in the play and performance there is an "ideology of radical feminism", the authors show Russian women "as such, who are humiliated and deceived by ill-mannered Russian men";
• “The play emphasizes that Russian society is no better than ISIS in terms of mercy, but ISIS is a culture of heroism, self-sacrifice, men doing their duty, which is impossible to meet in Russian society,” write “destructologists”;
• it is also noted that the play and performance oppose the law enforcement system of Russia to society and individual freedom, the court and the police "are endowed with negative characteristics, which causes hostile feelings towards them";
• Petriychuk also “in an attractive, emotional way (demonstrates terrorist romance, passionate love for a terrorist, his courage, etc.) evaluates the activities” of ISIS, “its ideology, supposedly filled with higher meaning, and its culture”;
• in the play, the "experts" also saw a gesture "denoting the unity of God (raise the index finger up), widely used by representatives of various extremist organizations of the Muslim persuasion";
• the meaning of the play and performance, according to "destructologists", lies in the fact that "the craving for freedom and the desire to freely translate one's ideas into life justifies any actions";
• as a result, the authors of the examination come to the conclusion that the play and performance “contain signs of justifying ISIS” and “signs of justifying terrorism.”

What is important to know

The play by Petriychuk and the play Finist the Bright Falcon tells about women who were recruited on the Internet by radical Islamists, who decided to marry them and leave for Syria.

Berkovich is a member of the Seventh Studio theater group created by Kirill Serebrennikov. She said that when creating the performance, "a huge amount of documentary material" was used, as well as the stories of real heroines, she had to consult "with Islamic clerics and even with officers of Russian law enforcement agencies."

The defense of Berkovich and Petriychuk indicates that the performance was staged on a grant from the Ministry of Culture, and the media wrote about the anti-terrorist nature of the production. Lawyer Sergei Badamshin drew attention to the fact that the structures of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia liked the play “Finist the Bright Falcon”: it was shown in the Tomsk colony in the production of the local Youth Theater.