The denunciation of the play directed by Zhenya Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk "Finist the Clear Falcon" was written by participants in the National Liberation Movement of Russia (NOD). The Devil drew attention to this.
The complaint appeared on the website of the National Course, the official media outlet of the NOD, in May 2021. Its authors are some S. Shchennikova and V. Tunik. In the denunciation, they write that Finist Yasny Sokol glorifies Islam and ISIS, “causes enmity” on religious grounds, offending Orthodoxy, and “is an instrument of information warfare against Russia’s security.”
“The faith of ISIS militants in their Islam is presented in the play as real, unlike Islam in Russia and Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is spoken of exclusively in a negative way. <…> The production justifies terrorism and extremism, glorifies ISIS militants. The creators of this performance are trying to justify the wives of the terrorists and make the public feel sorry for them,” write Shchennikova and Tunik (spelling and punctuation preserved).
Also in the text of the denunciation there is one absurd moment. Its authors complain that during the performance the actors do not remind about the “prohibition” of ISIS (spelling and punctuation are preserved): May 19, 2021, it is not indicated that this organization is banned in Russia.”
Trait found people with matching initials and surnames on the VKontakte social network. Judging by the pages on the social network, Shchennikova and Tunik are indeed members of the NOD. They did not respond to messages from journalists.
On May 4, Berkovich and Petriychuk were detained in Moscow in connection with a criminal case to justify terrorism. The reason for his excitement was their play Finist the Clear Falcon about women who are recruited by Islamic militants. It is noteworthy that the premiere of the production took place in 2020. Initially, both Berkovich and Petriychuk were released after interrogation, but almost immediately they were detained again, already in the status of suspects.
The meeting on choosing a preventive measure for Berkovich and Petriychuk will be held on May 5, at 14:00 (Moscow time), in the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow.