The Russian Jewish Congress demanded that a criminal case be opened on extremism against "destructologist" Roman Silantyev, who made an examination of the performance "Finist Yasny Sokol". On the basis of this expertise, a criminal case was initiated against director Yevgenia Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk for "justifying terrorism."
Questions from the Jewish Congress were caused by Silantiev's anti-Semitic comment to the Lomovka Telegram channel. “These things are unacceptable, especially when theater awards are given for this, when it is promoted. Even when, excuse me, people of Jewish nationality do it. This is not the first time I have observed that Jews are actively supporting the Wahhabis, it seems that to spite the Russians, ”Silantyev said in his comment.
"This is an anti-Semitic comment that gives us insight into the expert's negative attitude towards Jews," the congressional statement said.
In a conversation with RBC, Silantyev said that he did not see anti-Semitism in his statement. “What is the incitement of discord here? In fact, anti-Semitism is fueled by Berkovich herself. If I were the Russian Jewish Congress, I would condemn the actions of Berkovich, just as I condemned the activities of the terrorist organization that it supports,” he said.
He claims that he wanted to "draw the attention of the Jewish community to its inadequate representatives," allowing "campaign in favor of an organization that wants to kill all Jews." Silantiev called the statement of the Jewish Congress "an attempt to cancel the examination, nothing more."
In addition, on May 11, the propaganda publication Life published an article titled “A Family of Fierce Russophobes: Why Director Yevgeny Berkovich Hates Russia.” Berkovich's Jewish roots were emphasized in the text: “Berkovich Sr. has three names. Boris – according to the Soviet passport, Eli – according to the Israeli one, and Ilya – as a creative pseudonym. “Mother Berkovich, Elena Efros, constantly posts the flags of Ukraine, Israel and white-blue-white, which is offensive to Russia.”
The article also contains a poll: "Why do filmmaker Berkovich and her family dislike Russia?" In the first answer, this is explained by the director's family.
On May 5, Yevgenia Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk were sent to a pre-trial detention center for two months, until July 4, 2023, in the case of “justifying terrorism.”
A denunciation of their play Finist Yasny Sokol was written by members of the National Liberation Movement of Russia (NOD). The production tells about women from Russia who decided to marry Islamists and leave for Syria, as a result of which they were recruited by militants. The authors of the denunciation complained, among other things, that during the performance the actors did not remind about the ban on ISIS in the Russian Federation. The premiere of the performance took place in 2020, it was awarded the Golden Mask theatrical award. Initially, both Berkovich and Petriychuk were released after interrogation, but almost immediately they were detained again, already in the status of suspects.
Meduza studied the “comprehensive destructological forensic examination” in the case of Berkovich and Petriychuk. The document says, among other things, that “radical feminism” is as dangerous as the Islamic State. Silantyev, the creator of the pseudoscience of “destructology” (listed in the case as “historian, religious expert-destructologist”), as well as “linguist-destructologist” Galina Khizrieva and “destructologist, clinical psychologist, sociologist” Elena Zamyshevskaya, took part in the examination.
The "experts" came to the conclusion that the play and performance contained "signs of justifying terrorism." In their opinion, the participation of the heroines in ISIS "is justified by the girlish naivete of the heroine and the desire to have a family," as well as "irresistible passion / love."
The excerpts from the examination, which were published by the publication, say that the materials of the play "may have an ideological or psychological impact on the audience and induce them to take actions aimed at destabilizing the activities of the authorities of the Russian Federation."