The prosecutor’s office wanted to remove Akunin’s name from the posters of another theater

The writer Borys Akunin said in his Telegram channel that the prosecutor’s office, threatening trouble, needed to remove his name from the posters in one of the Russian theaters where a production based on his book is taking place. The writer did not specify which theater he was talking about.

“What to do, a poor theater asks me: remove the name or close the performance. Of course, remove it, I answer. These nameless posters and programs are excellent propaganda, as well as a future object for collecting Putin-era lunatics,” Akunin wrote. He also added that he is not paid for performances.

In October, Akunin’s name was removed from the posters and websites of the Russian Youth Academic Theater in Moscow and the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. It followed from Akunin’s post that the theaters did this at the direction of the Ministry of Culture.

Boris Akunin then stated that he does not condemn the theaters and understands that they have to work under pressure. He expressed his desire that his performances continue to be available to the Russian public, even anonymously.

The Ministry of Culture called the disappearance of Akunin’s name and other cultural figures who criticize the Russian authorities from theater posters “absolutely logical”. Later, Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova stated that many cultural figures who left Russia themselves demanded that their names be removed from theater posters. At the same time, she promised that the theaters would continue to show their productions.

After the start of the war with Ukraine, works and productions of opposition-minded authors, directors, and actors began to be canceled in Russia. In Moscow and some other Russian cities, the names of directors Kirill Serebrennikov and Dmitry Krymov, as well as writer Boris Akunin, who spoke out against Russian military aggression against Ukraine, were removed from theater posters.

• Boris Akunin (real name Hryhory Chkhartyshvili) is a popular Russian writer and translator. He repeatedly criticized the policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, condemned the annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine. Lives in London since 2014. Entered by the Ministry of Justice of Russia in the list of foreign agents.