Support The Moscow Times!

Yevgenia Berkovich's Statement in Verse to the Court is Now an Illustrated Music Video

Press service of the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow

Theater director Yevgeniya (Zhenya) Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk were back in court right after the New Year’s holidays to determine if they would be released from pre-trial detention. The two women have been held since May 2023 on charges that the play “Finist, the Brave Falcon,” written by Petriychuk and directed by Berkovich, contained elements justifying terrorism. The play is about Russian women who fall in love online with Islamic terrorists.

This time, when Berkovich had her chance to make a statement to the court, she recited her statement in verse.

It made no difference; the two women had their detention extended for another three months.

In another part of the world Roma Liberov, a documentary filmmaker and producer, was about to take a much-needed short vacation. When he heard Berkovich’s statement to the court in verse, he told The Moscow Times that he “couldn’t stay on the sidelines. I had to do something right away.”

He abandoned his plans and gathered together a creative team from the worlds of music, theater and journalism.  Actress Chulpan Khamatova, musicians Naum Blik, Vladi, Ligalize, Krec, and journalist Katerina Gordeeva created a video based on courtroom sketches and Berkovich’s verse.

“This isn’t the first time in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union that there is a trial of creative people over something they created,” Liberov said. “There was the trial of [writers Yuly] Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky, and the poet Joseph Brodsky, and later Andrei Sakharov, too. Courtroom trials document eras in Russia.”

“If there had not been Frida Vigdorova, we wouldn’t have had the transcript of Brodsky’s trial,” he continued. “It’s very important to get it all down, so it’s more than simply an address to a judge in verse...and to be sure it will last.”  

Since the video was released on January 22 more than 80,000 people have watched it. Liberov was pleased that the work had such resonance.

“In a dictatorship you never know what might work,” he said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss 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