The head of the Novosibirsk Musical Theater was fired due to a conflict with an actor who supported SVO

A performance based on the works of DDT leader Yuri Shevchuk was removed from the theater’s repertoire

The head of the Novosibirsk Musical Theater, Honored Artist of Russia Leonid Kipnis, left his post. This was reported by NGS.RU and VN with reference to sources.

NGS does not indicate the reason for the resignation; Kipnis himself, who led the theater for almost 29 years, refused to comment on the situation. According to VN, the artistic director was fired due to a conflict with an actor who supports SVO.

“Kipnis was fired not of his own free will and not due to the expiration of the contract. He was dismissed by the decision of the founders. At his farewell to the troupe, he kicked his opponent Anton Lindman out of the hall and burst into a “free” tirade against the founders,” said VN’s interlocutor.

In addition, the play “Foma” based on the biography and works of the leader of the DDT group Yuri Shevchuk disappeared from the theater’s repertoire, writes Siberian Express.

The conflict between Lidman and Kipnis became known in the summer. In an interview with the newspaper Zavtra, Lidman said that Kipnis criticized the actor’s “patriotic views” and support for the Russian military. In addition, according to Lidman, Kipnis was “very worried” about the dismissal of the director of the Novosibirsk youth drama theater “First Theater” Yulia Churilova, who staged the play by the Ukrainian playwright. Lidman also reported that “the situation in Novosibirsk is simply destabilizing” because “the liberals are really afraid of their own shadow, removing from the performances anything resembling at least some kind of peaceful procession, icons, etc.” The actor wrote about this publicly, after which his relationship with the artistic director deteriorated.

“[Kipnis] called me into his office and insulted me, then did it in front of the team. He called me a bastard, and then added that nothing good would happen to me in this theater.

So he said: “I have nothing to do with scoundrels and informers.”

Before this, he also spoke out: “And you, it turns out, are a patriot? Well, we’ll just live in shit.” Last summer, I published a post on social networks with a collage depicting a destroyed German Leopard tank and a Tiger tank burned in 1943. Kipnis saw this and told me: “Don’t do this. You have to be neutral,” said the actor.

After this, Lidman submitted an application to the Investigative Committee with a request to check Kipnis, who “did not support the SVO.”