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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: RUSSIA DISSIDENT ARTISTS
HEADLINE: Russia’s Arts Scene, a Casualty of Putin’s War
TEASER: The arts languish as the country cancels cultural events and artists flee
PUBLISHED AT: 11/17/2022 at 8am
BYLINE: VOA Moscow Bureau.
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: St. Petersburg, Russia
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricardo Marquina
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE(S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:11
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO))
[[As the Kremlin escalates its war on Ukraine and tightens its clampdown on any opposition to the invasion, the world of Russian arts and culture, historically opposed to violence and war, descends into pessimism. Marcus Harton narrates this report from the VOA Moscow bureau.]]
((NARRATOR))
The authorities in St. Petersburg, like those in many other Russian cities, have canceled festivals, saying it is inappropriate to hold such events during wartime.
Even Christmas and New Year's celebrations will be curtailed this winter.
Despite the war, the Russian people continue to go to the theater. Some tell us the world of culture, art and music provides an escape from hard times, as it had during past wars, like the Chechen conflict.
[[RADIO VERSION: Alexander Petrov is artistic director of the Zazerkal’ye musical theater in St. Petersburg.]]
((Alexander Petrov, Zazerkal’ye Theater Artistic Director - MAN. IN RUSSIAN)) ((ORIGINAL VOA))
“In difficult years like the 90s and now, in the context that you and I are talking about, what helps the most is music, it gives people energy to live differently.”
((NARRATOR))
The arts in Russia have been among the casualties of the Ukraine war, with hundreds of artists, including theater performers, fleeing the country after voicing opposition to the conflict — or attempting to avoid conscription.
Some observers compare the effects to those of the purges of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the 1930s, when he began executing people he considered a threat or sending them to the gulags.
[[RADIO VERSION: Marina Dmitrevskaya, editor in chief of the Petersburg Theater Magazine.]]
((Marina Dmitrevskaya, Petersburg Theater Magazine - FEMALE IN RUSSIAN))
"The worst thing is that every day you know that someone else has left the country, and thus, the theater culture of Russia is suffering a loss of living forces that has not been seen since [the 30s] the last century."
((NARRATOR))
Among the cancelled events is the city's International Cultural Forum, a victim of Russia’s new isolation.
But not all artists are leaving. Some use their work to defy the Kremlin’s policy and give Russians an outlet — a way to show they retain their humanity.
[[RADIO VERSION: Marina Dmitrevskaya:]]
((Marina Dmitrevskaya, Petersburg Theater Magazine- FEMALE IN RUSSIAN))
"We also thought about suspending our annual festival, but we decided to organize a program with five shows that give viewers the chance to laugh, cry — how to face adversity, how to continue being a person."
((NARRATOR))
Artist Yelena Osipova has been arrested many times for expressing her views against the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now more than ever, she says, it’s important to keep up the protests.
((Yelena Osipova, Artist and Activist - FEMALE IN RUSSIAN))
((ORIGINAL VOA))
“I don't understand how all this can be allowed, because we cannot stop this government, change it … if a tenth of what happens here happened in any other country, the government would have fallen long ago. It is horrible that we allow this. Now they are even talking about using nuclear weapons.”
((NARRATOR))
Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its ninth month, weighs heavily every day on the minds of Russians who oppose it. The arts remain a small window through which they can escape what has for many become a tragic and endless drama.
((FOR THE VOA MOSCOW BUREAU, MARCUS HARTON, VOA NEWS))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)St. Petersburg, Russia
BylineVOA Moscow Bureau
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
