Prominent Russian theater director and playwright jailed on terrorism charges

A Russian court has ordered the pretrial detention of theater director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk on charges of “justifying terrorism” over their play “Finist, the Brave Falcon,” which tells the story of Russian women recruited online to marry radical Islamists in Syria. Both artists will be jailed for at least two months while awaiting trial. The charges come amid a widespread crackdown on dissent in Russia’s theater and arts community amid the country’s war in Ukraine. Criticism of the war has been effectively criminalized, prompting many artists to flee the country. Despite being a former student of one of Russia’s most successful directors, Kirill Serebrennikov, who fled the country, Berkovich has refused to leave Russia. The open letter supporting the two artists argues that the play “carries an absolutely clear anti-terrorist sentiment.”