The artistic director of the Moscow Theater of Poets spoke out about the deprivation of titles for anti-Russian activities

Vlad Malenko: “If you are not with the people, why are you trying to achieve titles on behalf of this people?”

A bill providing for the confiscation of property for disseminating fakes about the Russian army will be submitted to the Russian parliament on Monday, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin reports on his Telegram channel. The future law, which will most likely be adopted, touches on the sphere of culture in the part where it concerns the deprivation of honorary titles (and, apparently, state awards) for activities hostile to Russia.

The MK correspondent asked the artistic director of the Moscow Theater of Poets, Vlad Malenko, Honored Artist of Russia, actor and author of the lyrics to the best-selling song by Chicherina and Leps “Russian Lighthouses,” to speak about the legislative initiative, asking separately about its timeliness.

– Vlad, do you support the bill regarding depriving cultural figures of honorary titles and awards for a number of crimes? Who would be the first to have the state-established epithet “honored” or “people’s” revoked?

– I support. And I remind you that “honorary titles” are still Stalinist principles. Many of our leaders are accustomed to sitting on two chairs. On the one hand, they are in opposition to the authorities, and on the other, they feast on the privileges given by the same authorities. They look like puppies that suck milk and bite the mother who feeds them. If you are not with the people, why are you trying to gain titles on behalf of this “wrong” people? At least be honest with yourself.

– Do you think it is necessary for actors or writers who have broken the law to have the opportunity to “repent?” Let’s say someone talked about the article, succumbing to emotions or “out of an old habit” left over from the times when this could be done. But then the man publicly admitted that he was wrong. In this case, should he be forgiven?

– I think this should not be regulated. Because here is a question of one’s own ethics, morals, and education. By the way, they have imposed on us the idea that cultural figures are pop “art rednecks”, from Instagram* or from “naked parties”. My brothers, cultural figures – this is conductor Igor Lerman from Naberezhnye Chelny, who has preserved the only organ hall in the city! This is a man of exceptional modesty and a great poet, Alexander Kushner! This is an expert on the Far East, writer Vasily Avchenko, who reads books 22 hours a day! This is art critic and teacher Boris Lyubimov, this is the head of the Mosconcert Ilya Bachurin, bringing gifts to children in Donetsk for the New Year.

– Why, in your opinion, was this law not adopted earlier? Should it have been developed in February 2022?

– We are a sleepy Power. We will always wait until they start to shit on our heads, and only then will we make decisions.

Let us remind you that the law provides for the deprivation of honorary titles by the court for a number of crimes. In addition to fakes about the Russian army, the punishment will be more severe for calls for violating the territorial integrity of the country (including, of course, for denying that Crimea or other new territories belong to Russia). And also for public calls for extremist activities (which foreign agent Boris Akunin recently did, calling for people to join a terrorist battalion), for calls for the West to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation and similar steps.

*Instagram (owned by Meta, a company recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation)