Support The Moscow Times!

Riot Police Edit Play in Moscow

Moscow riot police have censored a play set for a read-through at the Territoria festival in a park near the Sakharov Museum in downtown Moscow, bloggers involved in the production said.

The performance was not sanctioned by city authorities, who viewed it as a rally and dispatched police to the site on Saturday, according to a report published in the LiveJournal community of the Moscow-based Joseph Beuys Theater.

A police captain asked for the text of the play, written by German playwright Georg Genoux and describing sexual fantasies of a disabled girl, to be read aloud to him first, and only permitted the public read-through after performers agreed to use a euphemism rather than the Russian vulgarity for male genitalia used throughout, the report said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more