Artists dismissed by Oleg Menshikov wrote a letter to the President

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:37

July 2021 was marked by a loud scandal related to dismissals at the Yermolova Theater. The artistic director of the theater Oleg Menshikov made a decision to cut staff. As a result, the troupe was reduced by 25%, allegedly due to the difficult financial situation of the theater. In total, 26 people were dismissed.

It is known that the administration fired those actors who made up the "backbone of the Andreevskaya troupe." They worked together with the previous artistic director Vladimir Andreev. The actors have served in the theater for many years, played a huge number of roles, and received awards for this. The management attributes the cut to financial difficulties due to the pandemic. The victims themselves believe that they will simply be liquidated.

The artists turned directly to V. V. Putin and the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. They claim that since coming to "power" Menshikov removed almost 90% of the performances from the repertoire. There are only those productions in which the artistic director himself plays,

“Probably, it is profitable to play for decades the performances of your partnership (“1900”;“Orchestra”, etc.) and pay money for it. One gets the impression that all costs fall on the shoulders of the Yermolova Theater, and revenues are not distributed proportionally to the costs between the theater and the "Partnership 814" ", - quotes the letter from" KP"

In the letter, the dismissed actors provided a report on the financial activities of the theater. They argue that the theater "lives in a grand style" and is doing well with ticket sales.

The victims also note that earlier Menshikov transferred some artists to lower positions, and the theater workers massively signed documents, trusting the artistic director. Therefore, now almost everyone who is fired has a downgraded category.

Artists are trying to defend their honor, demanding justice. In the letter, they demand to start checking compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.