A shocking verdict to the director of the children’s theater for rape, not confirmed by the examination

The Kuntsevsky Court of Moscow has sentenced Alexander Berezkin, an outstanding children’s teacher, head of the children’s theater studio “Strekoza”, accused of pedophilia. The capital Themis appointed him 13 years in prison.

Berezkin, whom the students called Snape (as a strict professor from Harry Potter), pleaded not guilty. Colleagues spoke out in defense of the theatrical figure. The children who studied with Berezkin came to the court to support him. But nothing helped. How cases of pedophilia are being investigated today, and what Berezkin said in his last word – in the material of the MK columnist.

“MK” wrote about the strange case of Alexander Berezkin, who was detained at the end of 2020. Then contact the theater teachers who were shocked by the news. The former head of the Department of Theater History at the Russian State Humanitarian University, the legendary Soviet and Russian theater critic Professor Vadim Gaevsky (he taught Berezkin) said: “When I found out about the accusations, I didn’t believe it: what nonsense!” Theater critics said that Alexander abandoned a brilliant future and put all his strength into working with children and creating his own children’s theater. And he created such a theater together with his wife Anna (she is also a theater teacher) four years before his arrest. Alexander directed the theater studio “Dragonfly” in it, Anna – the studio “Workshop”. In total, there were about 100 children.

Two years ago, the mother of one of the girls wrote a statement to the police. An interesting moment: the day before, the girl disrupted the performance, threw a tantrum right on the stage. This episode was remembered by all those present. Berezkin scolded her severely and asked her not to come again. In response to her mother’s question why she did not want to study at the theater studio, the first grader said that Berezkin put her on her knees, put his hand into her panties and touched her genitals. Initially, the initiation of a criminal case was denied: the accusation seemed too absurd, because Berezkin was never left alone with this girl.

But during the investigation, law enforcement officers interviewed all the parents, and found another victim – one of the girls told about the “spiel-willy” that Berezkin allegedly did to her. According to investigators, the teacher raped her on weekends when he gave her private lessons. But during the classes, his son Innokenty was present, there are inconsistencies in the number of such classes (the girl reported 10 facts, and there were fewer classes), and most importantly, the forensic examination did not find signs of rape or something like that.

Be that as it may, the case was initiated under article 132 part 4 “violent acts of a sexual nature”, which implies from 12 to 20 years in prison.

The prosecutor asked for 15 years.

– We were in shock, – says lawyer Valery Angelov. – We were sure that we had “smashed” all the episodes. The interrogation in court of the senior investigator of the Kuntsevsky Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Main Investigative Committee of the ICR, Alexei Panyutishchev, was interesting (he refused to initiate a criminal case three times, but eventually did). He explained that he refused because he checked everything, and there was no evidence. The prosecutor did not like this, he clarified – maybe the procedural deadlines were running out? But the investigator clearly answered that he did not find evidence of Berezkin’s guilt then. During the interrogation of the witness for the prosecution, one woman broke down and told how she and two children were forced to testify against Berezkin. She said through tears: “Thank God, I refused!” I emphasize that this is a witness for the prosecution. Another striking point: there is an expert opinion, which says literally the following about one victim – the testimony of this child cannot be put as the basis for the prosecution if they are not confirmed by other materials. And during the interrogation, investigator Panyutishchev said that there was no other evidence.

“It seemed to us that the court was in a hurry to complete the case by all means, which is why it refused to hear some defense witnesses,” continues Angelov. – Minor children came to court (moreover, together with legal representatives and psychologists, as it should be in such a case), which just denied the very possibility of the existence of this episode. But the court did not give them the opportunity.

But no one deprived Alexander Berezkin of his last word. And this is what he said:

“… the famous musician M.V. Lidsky, who submitted several editions of the report “On the Problems of False Pedophilia” to the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, as well as human rights activists, have repeatedly pointed out in their publications the blatant injustice in the consideration and sentencing under article 132 part 4. They gave examples and evidence that there are hundreds in the camps under this article, but deservedly – only a few. The investigating and procurator’s offices, taking advantage of the closed nature of the processes in these cases from society, do not consider it necessary to bother themselves with either considerations of elementary common sense, or even compliance with minimum legal norms. Unfortunately, this was fully manifested during the investigation and trial of my case. The testimony of witnesses for the prosecution, heard in this hall, is uncertain, inconsistent, contradicting each other and even themselves. The practice of the last decade is such that a vague suspicion, a careless word is enough to spin a cynical, soulless mill of accusatory clerical work, and it can no longer be stopped, and as a result, many innocent people receive huge sentences under a shameful article, they lose their future not only in civil society, but and the prison world turned inside out, since it is almost impossible to survive and maintain dignity in a camp with a charge under 132 part 4. The typo “legal burial” system is truly not accidental. However, it is in our power, in the power of everyone to correct this situation. One of the best performances in Moscow, which is now on the stage of the RAMT (this is the play “Nuremberg”) ends with the phrase “We are what we believe in, what we defend. Even if it can’t be defended.” … An acquittal will bring hope to thousands of wrongfully convicted men, as much as it will give confidence to men who continue to work in the education system despite the risk of going to jail unjustifiably. I’m not asking for mercy. I rely on common sense … “.

Curious moment. Berezkin confessed at the very beginning (this happened at night in front of a badly speaking Russian lawyer by appointment, who was brought in by operatives). Then he refused them, explained that he had been threatened. An examination of the handwriting confirmed that he wrote these statements in a painful position and in the strongest excitement. The judge sent materials to the prosecutor’s office with a request to investigate the fact of self-incrimination and initiate a criminal case. The answer from the prosecutor’s office is to refuse.

– I always wait for him and will wait, – says Anna’s wife. – And all our friends, children, parents of our children – everyone is waiting, helping, whoever can, write letters to Sasha. We play in our studio all his performances. While in the pre-trial detention center, he has already staged two performances with us remotely! He sent us directing instructions and analysis in letters – and we have already released two premieres with him and for him. None of his colleagues ever doubted his innocence, let alone me. My husband is an intelligent, honest, decent and incredibly kind person. Now many of the guys who were sitting with him in the cell (they are already serving sentences in different camps) write letters to me and everyone says almost the same thing: “Sasha is the best person in the world. He is my book, my institute, he – answers to all questions.We are all not just waiting, we will continue to fight.Having lived for more than 2 years in prison, he did not become embittered at all, and in each letter he conveys instructions to the children.

Berezkin’s defense filed an appeal against the verdict.