Director Kirill Serebrennikov was detained in the Seventh Studio case - he is accused of embezzling 68 million rubles allocated by the state to support the theatrical project Platforma. On August 23, the Basmanny Court of Moscow placed the world-famous director under house arrest until August 19.
What are they accused of?
Director of theater and cinema, artistic director of the theater "Gogol Center" Kirill Serebrennikov was detained by the staff of the Main Directorate for the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Russian Investigative Committee. He is suspected of organizing the theft of at least 68 million rubles allocated in 2011-2014 for the Platforma project, according to the website of the Investigative Committee.
The agency’s statement clarifies that Serebrennikov’s actions fall under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed organized group or in special large size).
"The investigation intends to charge Kirill Serebrennikov with committing the specified crime, as well as to resolve the issue of choosing a measure of restraint," the ICR said in a statement.
The director faces up to ten years in prison.
Where was he detained?
Kirill Serebrennikov was detained in St. Petersburg, where he was working on a new film. The director's lawyer, Dmitry Kharitonov, said that for him this detention was "a complete surprise" - he was also outside Moscow. At the same time, Serebrennikov then stated that he would not testify until the arrival of his lawyer. As a result, then the director was taken to the capital, where he stated that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation, and asked to be released.
What did the court decide?
On August 23, the Moscow Basmanny Court decided on a measure of restraint for Serebrennikov, who is accused of fraud on an especially large scale. At the same time, the lawyers asked the judge to release the accused on bail of 68 million rubles, which the social activist Irina Prokhorova was ready to pay.
Dozens of Russian cultural figures vouched for the director. In particular, the address of Natalia Solzhenitsyna, the widow of the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, was read right at the meeting of the Basmanny Court. In her appeal, she stressed that Serebrennikov had always been distinguished by his decency and conscientiousness, which, together with his personal qualities, made it possible to achieve high results in his work. The writer's widow guaranteed that Serebrennikov would attend all necessary investigative actions, as well as court hearings.
Other guarantors were also listed, including director Fyodor Bondarchuk, TV presenter Andrey Malakhov, writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya, general director of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Urin, singer Philip Kirkorov.
Who else has been arrested?
The ex-chief accountant of the organization, Nina Maslyayeva, has already been detained in the Seventh Studio case; Director General Yuri Itin was placed under house arrest. A month later, in July, Alexei Malobrodsky, former general producer of the Seventh Studio and former director of the Gogol Center, was arrested. At first he was accused of embezzlement of funds (1.3 million rubles) in the preparation of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but then the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the article "Fraud" against Malobrodsky, Itin and Maslyaeva - we are talking about the theft of state support in 2011–2014.
Were there searches at Serebrennikov's before that?
Yes, May 23rd. As often happens lately, the searches took place early in the morning. Investigators came to the "Gogol Center" and the apartment Kirill Serebrennikov at nine in the morning. Investigators took the phones from the employees of the Gogol Center who were in the building, the troupe was not allowed outside, it was also impossible to get into the theater. Activist reported searches in the apartment of one of the best and most successful theater directors Olga Romanova on your Facebook page. Journalists and artists immediately rushed to the apartment and the theater. Serebrennikov left the apartment at around 3:00 p.m. when masked men took him out. The director briefly told reporters that the investigators treat him politely and delicately.
Later it became known that the searches were carried out in connection with a criminal case opened two years ago. The case was opened on May 19, 2015. Its materials say that in 2014, the Russian Ministry of Culture allocated subsidies to the autonomous non-profit organization (ANO) Seventh Studio to support the development and popularization of contemporary art. The artistic director of the Seventh Studio during this period was Kirill Serebrennikov. We are talking about the waste of about 200 million budget funds. Later, a source in the UK told Interfax that Kirill Serebrennikov was a witness in the case. Earlier, deputies Yevgeny Fedorov and Mikhail Degtyarev. Other media reported that the reason for the checks was the obscenity in performances at the Gogol Center. A few hours after the interrogation, Kirill Serebrennikov was released on the condition that he come to the UK at the first request of the investigators.
Why is Kirill Serebrennikov famous?
Kirill Serebrennikov took over the Gogol Theater in August 2012. This appointment was made within the framework of the cultural policy of Moscow, carried out by the then head of the Moscow Department of Culture Sergey Kapkov. Kirill during this time turned the Gogol Center, perhaps, into the best theater in the country, where every performance is sold out. Serebrennikov is one of the most famous Russian directors of the last 20 years. In particular, in addition to working in the theater, he made films. Among the most famous works you can highlight "Playing the victim", "The Apprentice", shown at the Cannes Film Festival. It should be noted that in the summer of 2017, the premiere of the opera Chaadsky directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, and the ballet Nureyev directed by Serebrennikov and Yuri Posokhov, should take place at the capital's Helikon Opera. In August, Serebrennikov was going to shoot a film about Viktor Tsoi.
The Investigative Committee of Russia detained the capital's director and artistic director of the Moscow theater "Gogol-Center" Kirill Serebrennikov on suspicion of organizing fraud on an especially large scale.
The position of the investigation
“The main department for the investigation of particularly important cases of the Russian Investigative Committee on suspicion of organizing the theft of at least 68 million rubles allocated in 2011–14 for the implementation of the Platform project detained the artistic director of the Moscow theater Gogol Center Kirill Serebrennikov,” the statement says. in the official statement of the Investigative Committee, which was announced by the press secretary of the TFR Svetlana Petrenko.
According to the version of the investigation, Serebrennikov's criminal actions were carried out by him in collusion with other officials - the ex-director of the Gogol Center Alexey Maloborodsky, as well as the leaders of the non-profit organization "Seventh Studio" specially created for these purposes: the general director Yuri Itin and accountant Nina Maslyaeva.
This version of the investigation is based on the testimony of Maslyayeva herself, who was arrested back in May 2017, when searches were conducted in the Gogol Center and Serebrennikov’s house in the case of embezzlement of state funds.
In the spring, the artistic director of the Gogol Center and, at the same time, the founder of the Seventh Studio, was involved in the case as a witness, but even then the TFR suspected Serebrennikov of organizing a criminal group in order to embezzle money allocated by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation to support the theater.
Subsequently, Maslyayeva made a confession, which was announced by the judge at a meeting in the Moscow City Court, where a complaint was considered about the extension of Malobrodsky's arrest, taken simultaneously with Maslyayeva. According to this statement, Maslyaeva directly accused the artistic director of organizing a criminal group:
“Kirill Serebrennikov developed a plan to embezzle funds allocated for the Platform project. Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky cashed out with my help,” she claims.
According to investigators, the Ministry of Culture allocated 68 million rubles to Seventh Studio for organizing theatrical productions, including - the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". However, Itin, Malobrodsky and Maslyaeva, in collusion with Serebrennikov, decided to steal part of this money, which was hidden by false financial documents for fictitious expenses for organizing the performance.
In fact, according to the investigation, Seventh Studio did not incur such expenses, which led to the theft of more than two million rubles.
Serebrennikov's excuses and possible verdict
Kirill Serebrennikov headed creative work Gogol Center since 2012. Officially, he was not the director of the theater, as he is not now, however, it was under his name that the Ministry of Culture carried out targeted support for the Gogol Center within the framework of the system of state grants for the development of culture.
During the tenure of the current defendant in the criminal case as artistic director of the Gogol Center Theater, and personally, Serebrennikov has repeatedly received high Russian and international awards. The last of them, "Europe - a new theatrical reality", was awarded to the director this year and was supposed to be received in December 2017 in Rome.
However, apparently, now it has become impossible - the TFR has direct evidence of Serebrennikov's guilt.
According to the statements of the artistic director himself, an attempt to accuse him of misuse of budget money, and even more so of fraud and the creation of a criminal group, is "absurd and schizophrenic." According to him, the performance "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was played within the framework of the "Platform" project more than 15 times and all the expenses for its implementation were real.
On the other hand, the current leadership of the Gogol Center emphatically does not give any comments on the progress of the Seventh Studio case, preferring to rely on the conclusions of the investigation rather than on past or current merits and regalia of their artistic director.
Kirill Semyonovich Serebrennikov. Born on September 7, 1969 in Rostov-on-Don. Russian theater and film director.
Father - Semyon Mikhailovich Serebrennikov, Jew, urologist, associate professor of the Department of Urology of Rostov medical institute, author scientific papers, inventions and monograph "Surgical treatment of erectile impotence".
Mother - Irina Alexandrovna Litvin, Ukrainian, teacher of Russian language and literature.
Grandfather - Alexander Ivanovich Litvin, former director of documentary and popular science films at the film studio "Moldova-Film", chairman of the Republican Society of Film Fans of the MSSR, Honored Worker of Culture of the Moldavian SSR.
According to his mother, he got his name in honor of the actor. “We named him Kirill for two reasons. Although I myself am Ukrainian, I wanted to call my son a purely Russian name. And secondly, the authority of the actor Kirill Lavrov, who at that time was especially popular and famous, was influenced by Irina Aleksandrovna.
According to his mother, he grew up as a capable boy and showed a craving for creativity: “At the age of three, we taught him to read. A little later, he began to draw himself. kindergarten he took part in all matinees, where he read poetry and danced, despite the fact that he was rather plump.
In the senior classes of the specialized mathematical school where he studied, Kirill created his own theater, where he staged the play "Shadow". It was then that he became interested in directing.
At school he distinguished himself by writing in verse school essay- continuation of the fate of the main characters of "Eugene Onegin", written according to the laws of Pushkin's style.
He graduated from school with a gold medal.
In 1992 he graduated with honors from the Physics Department of the Rostov state university. He was engaged in directing in his student years - first at the amateur studio "69", since 1990 - on the professional stage.
For seven years, he staged ten performances in all theaters of Rostov-on-Don: the Engagement Theater, the Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky, the Academic Theater of the Young Spectator. The productions were repeatedly recognized as the best performances of the seasons and received prizes at All-Russian Festivals.
Among his productions of the Rostov period: "The strange fantasies of a certain Miss Laetitia Duffay" (theater "Engagement"); "Phaedra" (theatre "Engagement"); "Luboff!" (Theatre "Engagement"); Sebastian's Garden (Rostov Theater for Young Spectators); "Tararabumbia" (theatre "Engagement"); "Little Tragedies" (ATD named after Gorky); "Town in a Snuffbox" (Rostov Theater for Young Spectators); "Demon" (Rostov Theater for Young Spectators); "I'm standing at the restaurant" (Rostov Theater for Young Spectators); "Marriage" (Rostov Theater for Young Spectators).
Since 1991, he has been actively working on television. First, in the television company "Southern Region", then in the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Don-TR". During the same seven years, he shot 11 video clips, 2 documentaries, 4 TV shows, 1 video art picture, 1 musical TV movie, 3 multi-part projects: two about music, the third about cinema, about 100 commercials.
Scripts by Kirill Serebrennikov:
1998 - Undressed
2000 - Rostov dad
2002 - Diary of a killer
2004 - Ragin
2009 - Short circuit. Shrimp Kiss (5 short stories) (film almanac)
2012 - Treason (Betrayal)
2016 - Apprentice
2016 - Etude (short)
Kirill Serebrennikov's works as an artist:
2016 - Etude (short)
2017 - Hero of our time (film-play)
Video clips of Kirill Serebrennikov:
1992 - "Rubber Legs" - the Beijing Row-Row group
1994 - "Memory" - the group "There! There is nothing"
1994 - “Sea! Take a stool "- the group" There! There is nothing"
1994 - “Closer” - the group “There! There is nothing"
1994 - “Probably this is love” - the group “There! There is nothing"
2010 - "January" - Mark Tishman
The Basmanny Court of Moscow placed under house arrest Kirill Serebrennikov, who was charged yesterday with fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to investigators, the director organized the theft of 68 million rubles allocated to his company "Seventh Studio" for the "Platform" project. The UK indicates that the money was cashed out through shell companies. Lawyer Ilya Remeslo understood this case. He explains what the essence of the claims of the investigation is and whether the measures against Serebrennikov are justified.
To begin with, let me remind you of the circumstances of the director's case, and also share some details.
The fact first became known on May 22, when Serebrennikov was searched. But, as follows from the decision to conduct a search, the case was opened back in 2015:
According to the investigation, on February 1, 2014, the ANO Seventh Studio, headed by Serebrennikov, concluded an agreement with the Ministry of Culture on the allocation of subsidies to support the development and popularization of contemporary art in the amount of 66,500,000 rubles.
According to investigators, having received these funds, the leadership of the Seventh Studio decided to steal them, concluding contracts with a certain Infostyle LLC for tailoring and technical support services for concerts. Subsequently, these documents were submitted to the Ministry of Culture as reports.
The version of the investigation was also confirmed by the witnesses who testified against Serebrennikov. Moreover, it turned out that they gave them only after Serebrennikov testified against them.
In this situation, it is somewhat strange to talk about pressure from the investigation on witnesses.
One-day firms, fictitious directors and government contracts
I decided to check the counterparty of the "Seventh Studio" in various databases. As a result, extremely interesting facts emerged.
Firstly, OOO "Infostyle" has never been engaged in concert activities, this is not provided for by its activities.
Secondly, in 2014 Infostyle LLC was liquidated.
Thirdly, Ovchinnikov, General Director of Infostyle LLC, is the director of many liquidated enterprises. All of them are located at mass registration addresses. An audit by the tax inspectorate showed that in fact there were no legal entities headed by Ovchinnikov at the indicated addresses. The information about Ovchinnikov's directorship entered into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities also turned out to be unreliable.
To put it simply, Infostyle LLC, by all indications, is an ordinary pad with a dummy general director, created to withdraw "black" cash.
If we look at the reporting on the legal entity to which the liquidated Infostyle LLC was attached, that is, Delkon LLC (it, by a strange coincidence, was also liquidated), we will see all the same signs of a laundering office (which is not reported to us by Investigative committee, and the unbiased database Kontur-Focus):
Finally, if we look at the financial statements of ANO Seventh Studio itself, we will find one void there. According to the reports, no financial receipts and operations for 2014-2015 were simply made.
Attention is drawn to various public procurements with the participation of the theater. Gogol and "Seventh Studio", which were held without competitive procedures, for a single participant:
Everything would be fine, but both of these legal entities are somehow controlled by Serebrennikov. It is very convenient to receive money from the state, and then without competition to shift it from your right pocket to your left.
In just three years, the theater distributed money for public procurement for 700 million rubles.
Apparently, this is how the state oppressed the right to freedom of creativity.
To his - everything, to enemies - the law
From the evidence presented, it is obvious that the questions of the investigation to Serebrennikov did not arise out of the blue and have nothing to do with politics and the oppression of freedom of creativity.
However, the case of Serebrennikov, with the light hand of his defenders, began to be called political. Previously, these same people with the right faces furiously helped another director - Oleg Sentsov, who eventually received 20 years in prison for terrorism. The arguments then and now are practically the same: he is a director, our man, so he must be released, and legally significant circumstances are ignored. The liberal public works strictly according to the formula "Everything is for its own, the law is for enemies." The fate of the client himself is the tenth matter, the main thing is that there should be a reason for protests against the "bloody regime".
The politicization of the Serebrennikov case ultimately works against him, as the fanatical and biased defense of the liberal intelligentsia gives rise to a backlash from people who do not understand why some are more equal than others.
And here it is important to maintain a reasonable, legal approach to the matter, avoiding both the requirements mass executions, and pressure on the investigation and the court.
Paradoxically, some of Serebrennikov's defenders benefit from his receiving a strict preventive measure in order to further promote the thesis of harassment. Contrary to expectations, the investigation filed a demand for house arrest, which is quite in line with modern practice humanization of preventive measures. Given the evidence available to the investigation, house arrest is a completely humane and objective measure of restraint in the Serebrennikov case. Experts and lawyers, who cannot be suspected of sympathizing with the investigation, admit that there were certainly procedural grounds for Serebrennikov's detention.
In view of the foregoing, it should be recognized that the Serebrennikov case is quite a common case from criminal practice, which should be considered solely from the point of view of formal evidence. The agitated public can only be advised to moderate their ardor and think: did she defend someone not on the basis of belonging to her circle and beliefs? Indeed, in Russia there are real victims of the mistakes of the law enforcement and judicial system, who receive sentences for minor crimes. But they, unlike Serebrennikov, are of little interest to anyone, because some are more equal than others.
Copy of someone else's materials
Director Kirill Serebrennikov was charged with misappropriation of funds. At the moment, the cultural figure is under house arrest. This is a very high-profile case, atypical for the cultural environment of Russia, so public attention is riveted to this issue.
Serebrennikov has many well-deserved awards, the director has many loving fans who refuse to admit the guilt of the idol and believe that the case has political overtones.
Now a criminal case has been initiated against Kirill Serebrennikov under Article 159 (Part 4). If the guilt is proven, the cultural figure will face up to 10 years in prison. Especially colleagues and friends of the director are outraged by the very fact of house arrest, according to them, the suspect did not leave anywhere anyway, actively cooperated with the investigation, obediently appeared at all interrogations.
But there is a different opinion of colleagues - not everyone understands why Serebrennikov refused to put his signature in a letter in defense of director Oleg Sentsov, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. At the same time, Kirill, who positions himself as an oppositionist to the current government, went to direct cooperation with her.
Be that as it may, at the moment the Russian director, who has worldwide recognition, has restrictions on freedom of movement and the threat of a real prison term hangs over him. There are three versions explaining the reason for such repressions. And which of them is true - time will tell.
Version 1
Serebrennikov is really to blame. Moreover, the investigation has already established that we are not talking about misappropriation of money, but about their misuse. The main witness for the prosecution is the chief accountant of the Gogol Center, Ms. Maslyaeva. According to her, the management forced to enter false data into the financial statements.
Version 2
The repressions against the director were the result of his creative courage in opposition to the current government. And the thing is that the Gogol Center is a theatrical platform, which has the glory of acute social. Serebrennikov's plays and films have a clear political motive and definitely do not serve in support of the Russian authorities, so such "criminal cases" are just a way to intimidate and silence.
Version 3
The director became a victim of the "showdown" of the Kremlin clans. That is, Serebrennikov had high patrons, and that is why he could afford much more than other domestic colleagues. But now an attack has begun on this very “roof”, which led to a high-profile criminal case.
