Theater director Zhenya Berkovich, left, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are seen in a glass cage prior to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 20, 2024. Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and Petriychuk, a playwright have been behind bars since early May. Authorities claim a play they staged,"Finist, the Brave Falcon," justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offence in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The case against Berkovich and Petriychuk elicited outrage in Russia. An open letter in support of the two artists, started by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, has been signed by more than 16,000 people since their arrest. The play, the letter argued, “carries an absolutely clear anti-terrorist sentiment.”
Immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin unleashed a sweeping campaign of repression, unparalleled since the Soviet era. It has effectively criminalized any criticism of the war, with the authorities targeting not only prominent opposition figures who eventually received draconian prison terms, but