March 19, 2023

20 Years for Rehearsing a Play?


20 Years for Rehearsing a Play?
Grigory Beresnev. Screenshot from Olga Savina-Zulaeva's short doc film, "Grigory Beresnev's Process." Youtube Screen Capture

Grigory Beresnev, 29, faces up to 20 years in prison for rehearsing a play.

A local actor and a teacher and directory at the Children's Theater in Tolyatti, Beresnev was taken by British playwright Rebecca Prichard's pathbreaking, award-winning 1998 play, Yard Girl, which takes a hard, in-your-face look at the reality of violence against young women and how little attention society pays to this.

After cutting from the play its strong language and references to the characters' sexual experiences, Beresnev began working with students to stage the play. Later, when those students' parents asked their kids what play they were staging, and then they looked it up, they were shocked – because they looked at the unedited play.

The upshot is that nine charges were filed against Beresnev for "knowing that the work was material of a pornographic character, he, with the assistance of underage minors, undertook actions that acquainted his students with the work. He also undertook the distribution, demonstration, and advertisement of material of a pornographic nature depicting minors."

Further, according to investigators, he “did all this with a sexual motive because of his attraction or causing excitement in minors.”

But here's the rub (or several of them).

An adaptation of Prichard's play ("Разбивая стекло") has been staged in Russia since 2000, including in Tolyatti.

The so-called expert called in to provide evidence that let to Beresnev's charges is nothing of the sort. His method of determining "pornographic content" amounts, apparently, to simply counting up the number of words in a work, and seeing what percent those words comprise of the entire work.

Beresnev is currently under house arrest, awaiting the first hearing in his trial, which will take place March 27, which also happens to be International Day of Theater. There has been support for Beresnov raised internationally, including statements from Prichard and the Western theatrical community. Playwright and linguist Olga Savina-Zulayeva has also started a Telegram channel in support of Beresnev, and has created a short documentary film about his case (embedded below).

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955