“Knock the Russian spirit out of the Russian theater”

Not so long ago at the Chisinau State Russian Drama Theater named after. Chekhov appointed Vera Maryanchik to the post of artistic director, a graduate of GITIS, who briefly served in the capital’s Hermitage. This news was generally greeted calmly in the Russian media – colleagues even wished Maryanchik success in her new position. Meanwhile, the MK correspondent found out that the sudden promotion to a leadership position led to ferment in the team; the artistic director given to Sandu in Chisinau is behind his back called the “killer” of the theater. Those who speak about this openly will be fired immediately.

“The troupe is split. It was staged by the Russophobic government in the Russian theater. Marianchik did everything to remove the past director Haret,” an anonymous source in the Moldovan capital told our correspondent. This was the first thread in the tangle that we had to unwind. A conversation with several theater actors, who asked not to use their names, confirmed the idea that colleagues, to put it mildly, are not delighted with the new artistic director. We are not talking about support, but some are ready to tolerate Maryanchik in the hope that everything will be fine, guided by the logic of “wait and see.” But these people have something to lose – there are only one or two Russian theaters in Chisinau. It remained to be seen whether the ex-director himself would agree to talk to a journalist from Russia. And Konstantin Kharet agreed to a request for an interview:

– This is probably another artistic director who is not in favor of our theater. I have a feeling that everyone who is appointed by the Ministry of Culture comes to knock the Russian spirit out of the Russian theater. And they succeed. The first artistic director closed the small stage – there are still no performances on it. The second was a citizen of Moldova and at the same time of France; during his short reign, two people’s artists who were closely involved in the repertoire were fired – Svetlana Tuz and Vladimir Zavalenny. These two people supported the former leadership – that is, me, and spoke out sharply against the outrages that happened after my dismissal and the cancellation of the performances.

– Describe the professional qualities of Vera Maryanchik.

– She has been serving in the theater for many years, but as an actress. I think she will do whatever the Ministry and above tell her to do. It is difficult to say now what goals are set for her, but we must take into account that her sister is the director of a hotel located nearby, in the Sun City shopping center. There have long been plans to build an underground parking lot in front of the theater and another hotel on the territory. At one time I answered sharply: “No.” I think that now all these ideas will be brought to life. A place in the center is a tasty morsel for too many.

– Is the theater troupe really in a state of split after Maryanchik’s arrival?

– Unfortunately, this is so – and this was evident at a recent meeting of the creative staff. In the past, when the actors were seated in the auditorium, there was a group of six people (opposing Konstantin Kharet, – I.V.), which then turned the entire theater upside down. Everyone else in the troupe stuck together, except for a couple of people. Now all forty artists are seated separately from each other in small groups. If those who are going to leave – but there are only two Russian theaters in Chisinau – ours and “From Rose Street” named after. Yuri Kharmelin. If you are Russian-speaking, there is nowhere to get a job, so people hold on to their salary. I know for sure that two young artists decided to simply leave art. I don’t know what they will do now.

– Vera really forced you out of the post of director of the Theater. Chekhov?

“She actively supported the oppositionists who wrote complaints against me to various authorities. Over the course of six months, there were six inspections at the theater – no serious violations were found. But she – according to unofficial information – went with one of the directors to the country’s leadership – and I was fired. But it is, of course, difficult to prove this fact.

– Is Marianchik an insider for the Ministry of Culture and President Sandu?

– Definitely. She will do what is beneficial to the current government. I have no doubt that ties with Russia and Russian culture will be completely severed. We had a play “Woman without Borders” based on Yuri Polyakov – there are rumors that the production will be filmed because Polyakov supports Putin.

– How has the theater’s repertoire changed over the past few years?

– The agenda is to stage national drama; there is no talk of Russian drama. Our compatriot Dmitru Acris, a director whose performances are staged in Russia, Romania and Bulgaria, wanted to stage “The Cherry Orchard” – and, according to my information, he was refused.

In 2019, the Theater named after. Chekhov was the most visited concert and theater enterprise in the Republic of Moldova – this is official data. And this did not suit many, although not only Russian-speaking spectators came to us, but Moldovans, Bulgarians, Gagauzians – thank God, representatives of many nationalities live in the country.

There are still posters, but I know that the theater does not play the performances “The Bourgeois” based on Gorky, “Heart of a Dog” based on Bulgakov and the above-mentioned production based on Polyakov’s work. In return, they made a play about our national poet and some others, one of which Vera herself staged.

“The situation is also tense because people are afraid to openly express their position. Now the post of director is occupied by a former policeman and lawyer from the Ministry of Culture,” our interlocutor said in conclusion.

Moreover, the police director is a temporary figure; he was appointed for two months, but he “stayed” for a year and a half. The authorities are happy with this – and they are in no hurry to develop regulations for the competition for the director’s chair. And, by the way, the heads of cultural institutions who are not loyal to Sandu usually hold such competitions three or four times, because the results are canceled under flimsy pretexts – and then they try to seek the truth in court.

“We pronounce the word “Russian” in a whisper,” admits Konstantin Kharet. In general, to paraphrase Shakespeare, “something is wrong in the Moldavian kingdom.”