Kirill Serebrennikov theft. Renowned director Kirill Serebrennikov detained on suspicion of major fraud

Director Kirill Serebrennikov (47) was detained in Moscow on suspicion of fraud. This was announced today by the official representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia Svetlana Petrenko.

“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 2011-2014 for the implementation of the Platforma project detained the artistic director of the Moscow theater Gogol Center Kirill Serebrennikov,” said Petrenko. Svetlana also added that in the near future the director would be formally charged: “His actions are qualified by the investigation under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - fraud on an especially large scale. 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.”

Recall that this is the second detention of Serebrennikov this year. In May, they came to the apartment of the director and artistic director of the Gogol Center with, and later interrogated them as part of the embezzlement case "on an especially large scale." True, then he passed as a witness, and Nina Maslyaeva, an accountant at the Gogol Center, pleaded guilty. But in early August, she testified against Kirill Semenovich. According to her, Serebrennikov, together with the former general producer of the Seventh Studio, Alexei Malobrodsky, stole budget money in 2014. They spent part of the allocated funds on the implementation of studio projects, and appropriated part for themselves.

In May, Serebrennikov was supported by many famous actors, at the door of the Gogol Center gathered (28), Fyodor Bondarchuk (50), Ilya Yashin (33), (41), who read out a letter in support of the director: “We, colleagues and friends of Kirill Serebrennikov and the Gogol Center Theater ', shocked by today's events. Kirill Serebrennikova is one of the brightest Russian directors, whose merits are recognized not only in our country, but throughout the world. We all know him as an honest, decent and open person. The work of a talented leader and the entire theater was interrupted by a sudden search. We express words of support to our colleagues and hope that the investigation will be carried out objectively and fairly, without excessive cruelty to the persons affected by the investigation, and will not violate creative activity theater, troupe and Kirill Serebrennikov himself. We are delighted with the decision of our colleagues from the Gogol Center, who, despite the scale of the actions of law enforcement officers, do not intend to cancel the performance.” The letter was signed by Mark Zakharov (83), (31), (28), (25), Evgeny Mironov (50), Oleg Tabakov (81), Sergey Garmash (58), Alla Demidova (80), Yulia Peresild (32), Victoria Tolstoganova (45), Alexei Agranovich (46), Yana Sexte (37), Anatoly Bely (44), Ksenia Rappoport (43), Evgeny Stychkin (42), Marina Aleksandrova (34).

Scandalous news about theft budget funds in the "Seventh Studio", founded by Serebrennikov, they began to act in May of this year. First, there were searches at the Gogol Center and the director's apartment. Serebrennikov acted solely as a witness. However, during the investigation, an apartment in Germany worth 300,000 euros was found in his possession. The property was purchased in 2012, during the period when the "Seventh Studio" was financed by the Ministry of Culture. Schemes for the withdrawal of budgetary funds under fictitious contracts were established. 160 shell companies were involved in laundering public money. It also became known that in the theater under the direction of Kirill Serebrennikov, a number of tenders worth about 5 million rubles were won legal entities of which he is the founder.

Thus, being in the budgetary service, the director was engaged in commercial activities, including winning tenders from his own theater through IP Serebrennikov. Obviously, there is no such amount of smoke without fire. It remains to be hoped that the investigating authorities will objectively sort out the Serebrennikov case, ignoring the lamentations of the liberal public.

The Tsargrad TV channel found out the opinion of cultural figures on the situation around the case of Kirill Serebrennikov and the Seventh Studio. Here's what's on this moment director's associates say.

Anton Dolin, film critic: “I am not a lawyer, I don’t know any details about whether he is really guilty of something and I can’t say anything about it. I can say for sure: so far the court has not ruled on his guilt. This case, to put it mildly, doubtful and unproven, judging by the way it was already unfolding, in particular, by the way they tried to prove the embezzlement of funds for staging a performance that allegedly was not staged, despite the fact that the performance was staged. For example, I personally attended it. I really understand why it was necessary to arrest the director now."

Iosif Reichelgauz, theater director: “The fact that he was arrested is true. And what is happening there can be established by our fairest court in the world, you know. We cannot but trust the Russian court. Therefore, if Russian court says that Serebrennikov stole, so he stole. I'm kidding. I absolutely do not trust our court, our laws. I know Kirill Serebrennikov well, who has been in the theater for many years. His main occupation: he rehearses and makes performances, composes and stages. He makes films. He travels to major international festivals and glorifies our country. And if he stole something, which I absolutely do not believe in, then I would like a fair and evidence-based court to prove it."

Stanislav Govorukhin, director: "They called me in for an interrogation. So what's so special about it? I personally have been called in for questioning a hundred times in connection with all sorts of such cases during my cinematographic activity."

Karen Shakhnazarov, director: "No, I'm not commenting on all this. It's impossible already. You are not the first to apply. Well, what to comment on here. Nothing is known yet. Time will pass, it will be possible to understand what, what, why.

Vladimir Menshov, director: "I don't understand what to talk about at all on this topic. Well, they arrested. So, there is some evidence. Well, let them show us this evidence. Then we will talk."

Nikolai Svanidze, journalist, historian: "This is not normal, but this is not a provocation, I think. This is such a very, very excessive action. If you have any rational goals in mind here, this is a story about what can be without any rationalism at all. But if you have in mind something rational, then here, in my opinion, the goal is to intimidate the entire creative community.Because there is no other way to explain it.Firstly, it can hardly be assumed that Mr. in our country, and stole more than anyone else, that no one is "sawing loot", no one is dividing the state budget, no one is "bringing in", no one is "cutting" money, no one is "making money" on the construction of new stadiums.

Andrey Kholenko, member of the Guild of Film Directors of Russia:“Of course, it’s very sad and very sad when a creative person is “closed” to Matrosskaya Tishina. I am not a big fan of Kirill Serebrennikov’s work. locked up, etc. Of course, it’s bad when any person is accused of something. I’m just returning from Optina Hermitage. There were small shootings, several meetings, including with the spiritual father of Optina Hermitage, Father Zachary. And somehow In a conversation today, he said that if you have any doubts, you should consult your conscience, because God communicates with a Russian person through his conscience, and I think that you can’t buy a conscience even for 68 million rubles. And conscience must be consulted."

Director Kirill Serebrennikov, after interrogation, was taken to the pre-trial detention center "Matrosskaya Tishina". This was reported to TASS by his lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov.

MOSCOW, August 22 - RIA Novosti. Investigators on Tuesday charged Kirill Serebrennikov, a well-known director and artistic director of the Moscow Gogol Center Theater, with fraud on an especially large scale. The indictment was preceded by the detention of Serebrennikov in St. Petersburg on the set of a film about Viktor Tsoi on suspicion of organizing the theft of at least 68 million rubles allocated for the Platform project in 2011-2014. The cultural figure himself did not admit his guilt during interrogation at the Investigative Committee of Russia, and the Basmanny Court is expected to decide on Wednesday, August 23, whether to choose a measure of restraint for him.

Back in May, law enforcement officers conducted searches in the Gogol Center and Serebrennikov's house as part of the case of embezzlement of state funds in the non-profit organization Seventh Studio founded by him. Meanwhile, many public figures did not stay away from what was happening and expressed their opinion about the detention of Serebrennikov.

The director became the accused

Svetlana Petrenko, official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee, told reporters on Tuesday that director Kirill Serebrennikov was charged with fraud on an especially large scale, and during interrogation he pleaded not guilty.

"The artistic director of the Moscow theater" Gogol Center "Kirill Serebrennikov was charged with ... fraud on an especially large scale ... During interrogation, he did not admit his guilt as an accused," she said.

This is not the first such situation involving Serebrennikov and the Gogol Center. Back in May, law enforcement officers searched the theater and Serebrennikov's house as part of the case of embezzlement of state funds in the Seventh Studio founded by him. According to the investigation, the Russian Ministry of Culture allocated about 70 million rubles to the Seventh Studio for performances and tours. The defendants, according to investigators, stole money with the help of fictitious documents about the organization of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Currently under arrest are the ex-director of the Gogol Center, Alexei Malobrodsky, the former accountant of the Seventh Studio, Nina Maslyaeva, and its ex-general director, Yuri Itin, is under house arrest.

Serebrennikov has headed the Gogol Center since 2012. This year, the director was awarded one of the most prestigious awards in the field of theatrical art - "Europe - a new theatrical reality", the award will be presented in December in Rome.

Measure of restraint for an artist

Serebrennikov's lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov told RIA Novosti that his client was detained in St. Petersburg, where he was filming a film, and taken to Moscow, accompanied by security officials. The lawyer said that at the time of his arrest he was on a business trip in Vladimir, from where he left by the first train.

At about 2 p.m., the lawyer arrived at the Investigative Committee, and in his presence the interrogation of Serebrennikov began, which lasted almost four hours. All the time that Serebrennikov was in the Investigative Committee in Moscow, there were a large number of journalists near the building of the department, who were waiting for further developments. The press also gathered near the Gogol Center after Serebrennikov's arrest, and the theater itself was closed.

At the end of the interrogation, the director's lawyer said that Serebrennikov's preventive measure would be chosen on Wednesday, August 23, at the Basmanny Court.

“Apparently, he was taken to the first isolation ward. He was charged under Article 159 Part 4, he pleaded not guilty. Tomorrow at 12.00 the Basmanny Court will decide on the measure of restraint,” Kharitonov said.

According to him, Serebrennikov believes that the accusation is absolutely absurd. "Platform" was a project that took place," the lawyer added.

But what about Choi?

As the director's lawyer clarified, Serebrennikov was filming a film about Viktor Tsoi in St. Petersburg at the time of his arrest. Shooting a picture about little known facts biographies of the famous rock musician began in St. Petersburg at the end of July. The script for the film was written by Mikhail and Lili Idov.

The film company Hype Film and producers Ilya Stewart, Mikhail Finogenov and Murad Osmann are working on the project. The rental is scheduled for 2018. The film will use the songs of Viktor Tsoi, as well as the music of Western rock musicians, which influenced the formation of Russian rock.

The screenwriter of the project and ex-editor-in-chief of the magazine "GQ" Mikhail Idov on his Facebook page said that Serebrennikov's new film about Tsoi was filmed by two-thirds, and its shooting would be completed no matter what.

"The brilliant Kirill Serebrennikov has been arrested. I can't believe it - Lily Idova and I were just on the set the day before yesterday. He was in a great mood and all at work," he wrote.

According to him, "in the end, all that the state will achieve is to deprive Russia of another talented person."

© Ruptly

Public people are not left out

Russian public figures did not remain aloof from the ongoing events. The ex-Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, head of the board of the Center for Strategic Research Foundation, deputy chairman of the Economic Council under the President Alexei Kudrin believes that the investigation should not arrest Serebrennikov.

"The director's arrest is clearly an excessive measure before the trial, especially after the president's words about the excessive arrests of entrepreneurs," Kudrin wrote on his Twitter microblog.

The famous animator Yuri Norstein expressed his support for Serebrennikov. According to him, he does not believe that such a talented person could be the organizer of the theft of funds.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture, People's Artist of Russia Iosif Kobzon considers it premature to comment on the detention of the famous director Kirill Serebrennikov, but he is sure that creative people should not break the law.

The first deputy chairman of the committee, director Vladimir Bortko (KPRF), indicated that the committee would follow Serebrennikov's case.

"As for taking control, helping, then of course (it is necessary - ed.). But here it must be divided into two parts. If he is charged with some ideological violations or, God forbid, political crimes, then here I will stand to the death, not to touch the wonderful director Serebrennikov. As for financial violations, if I were an accountant, I would comment on them. But since I am not an accountant and not an investigator, I cannot comment, "Bortko told RIA Novosti.

Russian writer, publicist and politician Eduard Limonov, in turn, believes that if the Russian Investigative Committee decided to detain director Kirill Serebrennikov, then the UK has evidence of his guilt. According to Limonov, if a person stole, he must be punished, no matter what position he holds.

The head of the Union of Theater Workers (STD), Alexander Kalyagin, vouched for Serebrennikov before the Investigative Committee, asking him to change the measure of restraint. "Chairman of the STD of the Russian Federation A.A. Kalyagin applied to the Investigative Committee with personal guarantee in connection with the detention of the artistic director of the Gogol Center, K.S. Serebrennikov," the statement on the union's website says.

Who will remain "Gogol-center"

The situation on the question of who will replace Serebrennikov in the theater during his detention was clarified by the head of the Moscow Department of Culture Alexander Kibovsky. According to him, Yulia Kalinina, deputy finance officer, is now performing the duties of the head. According to Kibovsky, at present no other candidate is planned to be appointed.

On Tuesday, August 22, director Kirill Serebrennikov was detained in St. Petersburg, where he was filming the film "Summer", and was taken to the investigative committee in Moscow. The director is suspected of fraud in the amount of 68 million rubles. ( Maximum term punishment under this article is 10 years in prison). Rain collected the reaction of Serebrennikov's colleagues, cultural figures and human rights activists to the "night" detention of the director.

The head of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR), Alexei Kudrin, called the director's detention an "excessive measure":

The arrest of the director is clearly an excessive measure before the trial, especially after the president's words about the excessive arrests of entrepreneurs

— Alexey Kudrin (@Aleksei_Kudrin) August 22, 2017

Moscow Deputy Mayor for Social Affairs Leonid Pechatnikov told Interfax that the director could have been given a non-custodial measure of restraint, such as a written undertaking not to leave, stressing that the case does not involve Moscow budget funds, but federal funds. money.

Head of the Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov also expressed hope that Serebrennikov would not be arrested. “I hope that our investigating authorities will have the wisdom not to bring the case to the point of taking the director into custody. It will cause nothing but scandal. Moreover, as far as it is known from media reports, the essence of the charge boils down solely to cashing out budget funds, and this is far from the same as embezzlement, ”Interfax quotes him as saying.

Writer and screenwriter Mikhail Idov, who, together with Serebrennikov, is working on the film "Summer", called the situation around the director "persecution of a talented person", which is "obviously not beneficial to Russia and Russian culture."

Nikolai Svanidze, chairman of the Civil Rights Commission of the Presidential Human Rights Council, called Serebrennikov's detention "demonstrative." “It is not clear why they treat him so brutally. Is he a rapist? Serial killer dangerous to society? Why should he be detained? He is an absolutely law-abiding citizen, not prone to either escape or violence. Why is it necessary to restrict the personal freedom of a citizen?” Interfax quotes him as saying.

According to Svanidze, the detention of a world-famous director “instead of a systemic fight against corruption” makes a strange impression both in the country itself and abroad, and “will have very serious consequences for general atmosphere in our country".

“From a moral point of view, this is absolutely wrong, in my opinion. Kirill Serebrennikov is a talented artist, a director of world renown, one of the people who make up the glory of Russia at the moment, ”said Svanidze.

Director Pavel Lungin commented on the detention of Serebrennikov on the air of Ekho Moskvy. “I think we see once again that our law enforcement do not back up, cannot show flexibility.<...>Of course, there is no need for an arrest. Cyril does not leave anywhere, he works. He is here, he goes to all interrogations, writes explanations. It seems to me that this is excessive cruelty, some kind of vengeful cruelty, ”said Lungin.

Human rights activist Olga Romanova called the detention inevitable and linked it to an attempt by the investigative committee to prove “that they are not fools”:

Human rights activist Zoya Svetova suggested that if Serebrennikov is not placed under house arrest, the number of proxies could be reduced:

Nikolai Kartozia, General Director of the Friday TV channel:

Journalist Leonid Ragozin called Serebrennikov's persecution an example of "pinpoint terror by the Kremlin." The purpose of the detention, according to the journalist, is to maximize the effect and sow fear:

The persecution of Kirill Serebrennikov is a classic example of Kremlin's pinpoint terror. The goal is to maximize media effect and sow fear

— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin)