Gogol Centre theatre shuts doors after final show

• The Gogol Centre theatre closed its doors.
• Gogol Centre is one of Vladimir Putin’s last remaining bulwarks of cultural independence.
• It was formerly managed by rebel director Kirill Serebrennikov before he left Russia.

The Gogol Centre theatre closed its doors on Thursday night with a defiant farewell performance of “I Don’t Take Part In War.” Gogol Centre is one of Vladimir Putin’s last remaining bulwarks of cultural independence.

An era for the opposition and intelligentsia circles in the Russian capital came to a dramatic end with the impassioned play condemning the Kremlin’s military action in Ukraine.

The Gogol Centre, which was formerly managed by rebel director Kirill Serebrennikov before he left Russia after denouncing Moscow’s incursion in Ukraine, performed bold pieces for a decade, frequently challenging the city’s stricter rules and sudden tilt toward conservatism.

Some audience members were moved to tears during Thursday’s performance when actors read poetry by Soviet soldier and poet Yuri Levitansky, who was born in what is now Ukraine.

Read More: Bolshoi Theatre in Russia scraps by critical directors

I Don’t Take Part in War, It Takes Part in Me is one of Levitansky’s Emblematic Verse, and it serves as the title of the play.

After the performance, Alexei Agranovich, the theatre’s departing artistic director, made the following announcement: “Gogol Center is not open. Forever.”

The top theatres in the city’s capital will have new directors as of this week, according to the Moscow authorities.

They include the Nikolai Gogol Drama Theatre, formerly known as the Gogol Centre, which will now operate under new administration.

Serebrennikov, who turned the theatre group into a symbol of national culture, charged that the government had “murdered” the Gogol Center.

He spoke to the crowd on Thursday from Avignon in southeast France via video hookup.

“The Gogol Center represents the concept of freedom. Freedom is still alive. Freedom endures as long as we do “said he.

The Sovremennik, a well-known theatre in Moscow, will also undergo a management change, according to the authorities.

Since President Putin ordered soldiers into Ukraine, there has been an escalating crackdown on any form of opposition.

Some audience members placed roses against the white walls of the theatre before the play.

A teacher who attended the play, Daria Kozhevnikova, 36, told AFP that “they are closing everything and blocking everything.”

After pausing, she grinned uncomfortably and said, “Soon we’ll all be chained together by one chain.”

She appeared to be crying and her voice quavered. “I felt good there,” the speaker said.

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