<
https://theconversation.com/feminist-theatre-on-trial-in-russia-the-latest-in-putins-purge-of-contemporary-culture-233146>
"The savage purging of independent thought and creativity among Russian
intellectuals since Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine continues apace.
In 2020 a play called
Finist the Bright Falcon by Svetlana Petriychuk
premiered in Moscow. The state-funded production was directed by Evgeniya
Berkovich. The play won two awards at Russia’s prestigious Golden Mask theatre
festival in 2022. Its title is drawn from a popular Russian folk tale. The tale
describes the long and hazardous journey undertaken by a fair maiden in order
to find true love with a young prince who had visited her in the guise of a
bird with magnificent plumage.
Petriychuk’s play seeks to understand the naive decisions of young women who
have been seduced online to go and become brides of Isis fighters, and who are
charged with terrorism offences when they return to Russia. It was partly based
on court transcripts.
Several describe their dull lives in Russia and difficulties with Russian men.
Their supposed future husbands tempt them to travel to Syria with fantastical
and exotic narratives of life as a Muslim bride. None of the women express any
awareness of terrorist violence. On the Golden Mask website Petriychuk
explains:
We took an extremely complex theme, in which it was exceptionally difficult
to connect with the protagonists, to understand them, to have empathy with
them, and to understand what happened […] What does a person – a woman –
lack, for her to gamble absolutely her entire life, and entrust herself not
even to a man, but just to an image on a screen, and then dash off to some
fairytale land in order to find her Finist?
In May 2023, two years after the play’s run had ended, the theatre world was
stunned when Berkovich and Petriychuk were themselves arrested. They were
charged with terrorism offences relating to Isis ideology propaganda.
Petriychuk was accused of writing the play because of sympathies with Islamist
extremism and director, Berkovich, was accused of conspiring with her. They
could face five to seven years in prison if found guilty: the acquittal rate in
Russian courts is less than 1%.
Both women were refused bail and have now been imprisoned for over a year in
pre-trial detention, even though Berkovich is the mother of two adopted
daughters with developmental issues. No pro-Islamic materials were found during
searches of her apartment."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
