People’s Artist of Russia Dmitry Nazarov and his wife, Honored Artist of Russia Olga Vasilyeva were fired from the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov, Vadim Vernik, deputy director of the theater for public relations, told RBC.
Wernick said that Nazarov had a conversation with the artistic director of the theater Konstantin Khabensky, as a result of which a decision was made to dismiss the artists. He did not provide other details.
Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote that Nazarov was fired because of his public statements about the hostilities in Ukraine, as well as the actor’s “anti-Russian sentiment”. Nazarov himself told the MSK1.RU publication that he did not know anything about this, and he did not discuss his dismissal with Khabensky.
After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the actor criticized the hostilities more than once: he began to publish poems and songs on his YouTube channel in which he criticizes Russia’s actions in Ukraine and the Russian authorities.
On February 1, Nizhny Tagil was supposed to host the play “The Root of Love” with the participation of Nazarov and Vasilyeva, but the day before, the city Youth Palace reported that the production was canceled. According to the Bilet 96 operator, the decision was made to avoid conflict situations “due to the growing dissatisfaction of the townspeople, with various appeals, and so on.” The local edition Mezhdu Rows reported that the townspeople “were dissatisfied with the way the actor had previously spoken negatively about the SVO in Ukraine and mobilization.”
Nazarov was accepted into the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov in 2002, before that he served at the Maly Theater, then at the Sphere Theater and the Theater of the Russian Army. The actor has played more than 40 roles in films and TV shows, including Golden Calf, Penal Battalion, Turkish March, and Kitchen. Vasilyeva has been playing at the Moscow Art Theater since 2005.