The trial is considered a show trial against the liberal art scene in Russia. The prosecutor had applied for six years in prison. In the run-up to the verdict, numerous Russian artists published videos in which they complained about an unjust judicial system. Many actors, singers and creative professionals appeared on Friday in front of the Moscow courthouse. They received Serebrennikow with applause. Many wore T-shirts that read “Free Kirill!”, A total of around 400 people were there, as a reporter from the German Press Agency reported.
In a video broadcast by Echo Moskwy, which reported live on the Internet about the verdict, the art expert Marat Gelman, who emigrated because of the difficult situation for Russian culture, said that Serebrennikov had made enemies in the Kremlin. Serebrennikow never enriched himself, he emphasized. The theater maker is said to have embezzled 129 million rubles (1.6 million euros).
The star director also practices social criticism in his films and theatrical performances. In his closing speech on Monday, Serebrennikov affirmed his innocence and emphasized that no evidence had been presented in the trial. At the same time, he admitted that the bookkeeping of his theater had been terribly organized. But he doesn’t understand accounting and finance, he said. Therefore there are experts for it. An accountant had charged Serebrennikov. Your case will be handled in a separate process.
With Serebrennikow, his colleagues Sofja Apfelbaum and Alexej Malobrodski and Yuri Itin were also on trial. The investigation against the team has been running since summer 2017. Last year, Russia’s best-known film and theater maker was released after more than a year and a half under house arrest with restrictions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and international stars also campaigned for the film and theater maker. Serebrennikov runs the popular Gogol Center Theater in Moscow. But he also staged in Berlin, Stuttgart and Hamburg – often in absentia because he was under house arrest and was not allowed to travel after his release. In April 2021, his staging of Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal” is to be seen at the Vienna State Opera. Thousands of cultural workers in Russia have signed a letter of support for Serebrennikow.
In Germany there were also expressions of solidarity on the Internet under the keyword #freekirill. The Schaubühne Berlin emphasized that there were allegations “that could not be proven in any way in the criminal proceedings that have been going on since 2017”. The theater was “stunned and outraged” that Serebrennikov should spend several years in prison.
The Schaubühne announced a protest on Friday morning in front of the Russian embassy in Germany. A petition with more than 55,000 signatures should be handed over to the ambassador there. German actor Lars Eidinger also called for a demonstration in front of the diplomatic mission.
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