Writer Boris Akunin announced the demand of the prosecutor’s office to remove his name from the poster of the play based on his book. He wrote about this in the telegram channel.
“Today they called from another theater where there is a performance based on my book. The prosecutor’s office strongly recommends that the name of the author be removed, otherwise there will be trouble. What to do, the poor theater asks me: remove the name or close the performance, ”Akunin writes.
The writer said that he advised the theater to remove his name so as not to remove the performance from the show. Akunin called posters and programs of speeches without indicating the name of the author “excellent propaganda leaflets.”
“Well, it’s flattering, of course, to turn into someone whose name cannot be named, Lord You-Know-Who,” the writer added (in the Harry Potter books, many characters called that out of fear of the negative hero Lord Voldemort. — RBC)
RBC sent a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
In October, Akunin’s name was removed from the posters of the Russian Academic Youth Theater (RAMT) in Moscow and the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
The writer then clarified that the Ministry of Culture had made such a demand, but he did not dissuade the theater management: “Russian viewers are also dear to me. That is why I do not demand that my nameless performances be removed from the repertoire. Until they are finally banned, let them go. Even for free.” Akunin clarified that he does not receive funds for performances due to sanctions (he has been living in the UK in recent years).
The RAMT indicated that three performances based on the works of Akunin have been going on in the theater for a long time with constant full houses, they are “ardently loved by the audience.”
The Ministry of Culture called the requirement for theaters natural. The ministry considered it “absolutely logical” to remove from the posters the names of those cultural figures who “left the country at this difficult time, abandoned Russia, who publicly spoke out against its rich culture.” Akunin has repeatedly criticized the Russian authorities and opposed military operations in Ukraine.
The real name of Boris Akunin is Grigory Chkhartishvili, among his other pseudonyms are Anna Borisova and Anatoly Brusnikin. He is best known for novels and stories from the New Detective series about the adventures of Erast Fandorin, the writer also created the Adventures of the Master series, Genres, the History of the Russian State and Provincial Detective series. In 2014, he moved to London with his family and criticized the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine.