One of the closest associates of Sergei Kiriyenko can lead the Bolshoi Theater. In the Kremlin, he overlaps the disloyal artists and oversees the "new pioneers"

The head of the Public Project Department of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation (AP) Sergey Novikov may become the director of the Bolshoi Theater. The fact that the official wants to receive this position and is in negotiations on the appointment, Medusa was told by two sources close to the Kremlin, a source in the government and an employee of the theater itself.

According to two sources close to the AP, Novikov expects to become the director of the big after the presidential election. In the meantime, he is tightly involved in the election campaign of Vladimir Putin. Novikov directly oversees several key events: the competition “This is our family” and regional tour of the pop stars and the theater in support of the president. “After the elections [Novikov] can be released from the Kremlin, he is tired, wants more creative work. In addition, Sergey wants to devote more time to his large family, children. The Bolshoi Theater has been attracting him for a long time, it is interesting for him to work there, ”says one of the sources of Medusa, close to the Kremlin.

The interlocutor from the government says that “Bolshoi begins to experience problems with the repertoire: you can’t call foreign stars because of his (as Russian officials call the war with Ukraine-approx.“ Medusa ”).” “The level of the theater must be maintained, relevant, modern. Novikov is friends with the [famous conductor Theodore] Custezis, he himself progressive, put the productions in Siberia, is now training in Nizhny, ”the source says.

An employee of the Bolshoi Theater, with whom Medusa talked, confirms this information. According to him, many Russian theater managers "signed a letter against war ." “[Director of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir] Urin too. Despite this, the contract was extended , although the rest who signed the letter, for example [the director of the Theater of Nations], Maria Revyakin, was removed . About a month ago, in the theater, they began to say that Novikov himself wanted this position and such an option that he will become a director, ”the interlocutor of Medusa explained.

Sergey Novikov - a longtime ally of the head of the Kremlin’s political bloc, Sergei Kiriyenko. Like Kiriyenko, he is a native of Nizhny Novgorod. When in 2001 Kiriyenko became the presidential envoy in the Volga District, Novikov was appointed his adviser. In 2005, the first was headed by the Federal Agency for Atomic Energy, reformatted over time to the State Corporation Rosatom, and the second first received the post of his assistant, and in 2008 he began to manage the Rosatom Department for public communications, where he was engaged in the interaction of the media.

Novikov moved to work in the presidential administration in the same scheme: at first the Kremlin’s political block headed Kiriyenko, and after him in 2016 the post of deputy head of the Department of Internal Policy (and then - the head of the Department of Public Projects) was occupied by his longtime associate.

In AP, Novikov oversees the youth policy (Medusatalked about numerous forums that the Kremlin began to conduct at Kiriyenko) and the sphere of culture and upbringing, for example, “New Pioneer” - the children's “Movement of the First”. The management of Novikov is also the recommendations for state and loyal authorities of the media and oversees Internet publications, whose editorial policy is affected by the Kremlin.

Medusa wrote that the subordinates of Novikov and he himself put pressure on the artists who acted against the war and force them to publicly show loyalty in order to be able to tour in Russia, act in films and get roles in performances. So, for example, the Kremlin’s administration on public projects was affected by the leader of the Blyak Roman and actor Alexei Serebryakov. Three sources of Medusa, close to the leadership of Russian theaters, and two interlocutors in the film industry call him the main censor of Russian culture and say that managers “on culture” go to his management for instructions.

At the same time, the acquaintance of Novikov for work in AP characterizes him as "not a cannibal." “He would be glad for everyone [artists who opposed war] to return to Russia, but be loyal. Maybe in the Bolshoi Theater he will succeed in this basis, ”he concludes.

Sergey Novikov and the press service of the Bolshoi Theater, at the time of publication, did not respond to the requests of Medusa.

Andrey Pertsev, Svetlana Reuters