The Museum of Moscow evicted the Documentary Film Center (CDK), which had occupied premises in a building on Zubovsky Boulevard for more than 10 years. Sofya Kapkova, the founder of the Central House of Culture, told Dozhd that she was informally asked not to talk about the war.
According to Kapkova, representatives of the museum did not even wait for the decision to terminate the contract.
The building in which the Central House of Culture is located is historical, and the beams of its ceiling form the floor of the premises of the Museum of Moscow located above the cinema. In July 2022, the Museum of Moscow sent a notification to the Central House of Artists about a fire examination, which showed that the ceiling wooden beams of the 19th century pose a threat to viewers. When asked by the Central House of Artists how to eliminate the shortcoming, the museum management did not answer. But she conveyed to Kapkova, through employees, a request not to talk about the war.
“Unofficially, it was said through people:“ Well, you understand, Sophia left, she openly opposes the war, well, you somehow ask her not to call the war a war, ”Kapkova told.
The CDC appealed to the court, which sided with the Moscow Museum. On July 5, the Museum of Moscow and the Moskino chain announced that a new art platform was opening on the site of the Central House of Culture, "which will not leave indifferent film lovers and connoisseurs of film classics."
Kapkova left for the United States two days after the start of the war and has no intention of returning. “I will not return to Russia. It was a very difficult choice for me, but I made it,” she said.