Crimean children’s theatre to close after alleged harassment

A children’s drama school, located in the city of Simferopol in Crimea, is due to shut after alleged harassment by local officials.

The Svitanok (Sunrise) theatre, which was established in Simferopol over 20 years ago and is known for staging Ukrainian-language plays, has reportedly been accused by officials from the Palace of Child and Youth Art of promoting Ukrainian nationalism and “western values”.

According to co-founder Oleksandr Polchenko, the theatre’s latest performance, Songs of the Amazon, was met with criticism. In particular, a costume worn by a little girl playing the sun, which featured a golden crown, was read as a reference to the Statue of Liberty in New York.

“The next day, the management ordered us to hand over all the texts and scripts for the show, as well as a recording,” Mr Polchenko told Radio Free Europe.

He says that this the incident comes after months of pressure on the drama school head, his wife Alla Petrova, and describes the harassment of the theatre as part of a wider attempt to “eliminate anything associated with Ukrainian” on the peninsula.

Anton Garkavets, a spokesperson for Crimea’s Culture Ministry, which oversees the Palace of Child and Youth Art, stated that the Ministry lacked information regarding Svitanok. Mr Garkavets did, however, seek to cast into question any claim that the situation is linked to language issues.

“Crimea has three official languages: Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar,” he said. “We have not persecuted anyone on this issue.”

This development comes shortly after the announcement that Moscow’s library of Ukrainian literature is due to close.

Source: Radio Free Europe