Russian Theater Director's House Arrest Extended By Three Months

According to the New York Times, a court has extended the house arrest of Kirill S. Serrebrennikov, Russian theater director, who has been accused of embezzling government funds.

Serrebrennikov is the artistic director of the Gogol Center, but now he will be spending another three months under house arrest while awaiting trial.

He and his theater company, Seventh Studio, are accused of stealing about $2.3 million. The Ministry of Culture has requested to be awarded that amount as compensation if Serrebrennikov is convicted.

Serrebrennikov has maintained that his accountant at Seventh Studio, Nina L. Maslyaeva, has falsely accused him and his four colleagues of theft.

Read more here.

The Gogol Center, Russia's leading avant-garde theater is a multi-use arts complex in Moscow featuring movies, music concerts, a discussion club, and performances by Russian and foreign directors on several stages. The Center is noted for it's stagings of contemporary Russian Dramas and a lobby featuring neon-lit mirrors shaped like famous directors.