Serebrennikov encouraged to write letters of support to Akhedzhakova

Director Kirill Serebrennikov urged to write letters of support to actress Liya Akhedzhakova. The other day it became known that her last performance was taken from the repertoire of the Sovremennyk theater. Akhedzhakova publicly spoke out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to her, the performance was removed from the repertoire against her opinion – although the theater claims that the reason was the poor health of the 84-year-old actress.

Serebrennikov, who also opposes the war and now lives abroad, encouraged Akhedzhakova to write in his Telegram channel.

“Everything that happened in the last two days with the legend of Russian theater and cinema, Lia Akhedzhakova, we consider unacceptable, disgusting and vile,” the record says. Serebrennikov offers to write letters by e-mail and promises that they will be unsealed and delivered to the actress personally, as well as send them to the Sovremennyk theater, whose director Yury Kravets previously declared about “angry letters” due to the political position of the actress.

On February 8, it became known that the management of the Moscow theater “Sovremennyk”, where she has been working since 1977, removed from the repertoire the last production with her participation – the play “The Gin Game”. This was reported by “Novaya Gazeta”. The publication quoted Akhedzhakova’s words that the director mentioned in a conversation with her that he was “literally bombarded with angry letters addressed to her.” “Sovremennik” replied to “New Gazeta” that the February showing of the play was canceled and that it would be possible to watch it “never”. Officially, in the theater, the reason for the cancellation of the performance was called Akhedzhakova’s poor health. The actress says that she “really wanted to play this performance.”

Earlier, “Sovremennyk” took off the second play with Akhedzhakova – “First bread”. “Officers of Russia” complained about him because of the actress’s monologue, which allegedly insults veterans.

At the end of 2022, in St. Petersburg, the performance “My Grandson Veniamin”, in which Akhedzhakova also played, was postponed to an undetermined date. The reason was not named, but it was then that the actress was criticized a lot and harshly in pro-Kremlin Telegram channels.

• Lia Akhedzhakova is a People’s Artist of Russia who played in many popular films of the Soviet and post-Soviet period. She regularly speaks on social and political topics, criticizes the policies of President Vladimir Putin, and supports political prisoners and Ukraine.
• A number of publicists supporting the war called for Akhedzhakova to be left alone, while others, on the contrary, expressed satisfaction with her troubles.
• State Duma deputy Olha Zanko called for erasing the Polish actress Barbara Brylska from the film “The Irony of Fate, or With Light Steam”, in which Akhedzhakova also played, and “inserting” another actress in her place. Brylska previously stood up for Akhedzhakova and criticized the Russian authorities.