A petition against the dismissal of the artistic director of the theater in Voronezh was signed by 4.7 thousand people

A petition in support of ex-artistic director and creator of the Voronezh Chamber Theater Mikhail Bychkov was signed by 4.7 thousand people. On November 21, Mikhail Bychkov was fired from the theater without explanation.

The petition was published using the VKontakte petition service on November 24. “This decision was made without taking into account the interests of the audience of this theater and the residents of the city,” the text of the petition says.

On the same day, November 24, in connection with the resignation of Mikhail Bychkov from the theater stopped three leading actresses collaborate – Natalya Shevchenko, Tatyana Babenkova and Yana Kuzina. Because of their departure, the theater’s repertoire lost the performances “The Thunderstorm”, “Uncle Vanya”, “Stone” and “Camera Obscura”.

November 23rd theater team of 63 people wrote a letter in defense of Mr. Bychkov and sent it to the governor of the Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, to the Ministry of Culture, as well as to the administration of President Vladimir Putin. The regional Ministry of Culture responded by saying that they were “surprised” at the “direction” in which the letter was written, and also said that the dismissal of the artistic director would not harm the “creative component of the institution.”

Mikhail Bychkov was informed of his dismissal on November 21, a couple of hours before the end of his last working day. On the same day, the head of the regional Ministry of Culture, Maria Mazur, signed a dismissal order. The Vesti Voronezh publication reported that the resignation of the artistic director was connected with his anti-war position – in March 2022, he signed a collective letter from cultural figures who opposed the military operation on the territory of Ukraine.

Read more in the Kommersant article. “Mikhail Bychkov left the stage”.

Polina Motyzlevskaya