So, what happened was what was expected after the participation of Rimas Tuminas in the show of pranksters Lexus and Vovan, which caused an incredible scandal in the cultural (and not only) environment – he was fired from the post of artistic director of the Evgeny Vakhtangov Theater, which he headed for 14 years. Rimas himself, who has been in Lithuania since March 1, told me in a private conversation that he was making such a decision and was ready to leave the theater for the sake of the theater itself. Nobly.
Well, the deed is done: the show of boys with cartoonish nicknames (almost Lelik and Bolik) really brought to light a foreigner feeding on Russian culture. And the experts seated right there in the studio (their zeal was highly suspicious to me) energetically stigmatized the famous director, accusing them of perverting their (that is, our) native literature, found in his productions based on Russian classics even the Nazis marching, well, at the same time all the dogs on him indiscriminately hanged for the destruction of national culture. They just didn’t call the national a traitor, because Tuminas is a foreigner. In general, for many years he disguised himself as a decent person, earning Russian hard-earned money.
I won’t argue and justify it too – I fell for a provocation, like a stupid teenager who was promised a conversation with the Minister of Culture of Ukraine himself, wanted to play with fire, and as a result, he was not up to par with his bright personality and great talent. It was bitter, painful, unpleasant for me to look at him – for him, for us. I didn’t believe my eyes. This is not discussed. It’s his own fault… But here’s what I’ll tell you, dear comrade experts: firstly, the great should be judged by equals. Only the equals of Tuminas would not, I am sure, participate in such a cheap coven, examples of which our history remembers a lot.
Secondly, it is worth looking carefully – what did Tuminas, who silently closed the door behind him, and those who branded him leave behind? Behind him is the golden age of Vakhtangov (and only 14 years old!), productions based on Russian classics, where he has Chekhov, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Gogol with such reverence and reading that you will not find among some of their compatriots, for which he was dubbed “Lithuanian phenomenon of the Russian theatre. These are actors with big names, with whom he made their great roles and young artists, whose rise was also provided by him – Tuminas. Finally, the pride of our country in the international arena, where his productions constantly represented Russia – more than all the theaters. Was it? It was. As was this stupid show with its edited Q&A. And what about you or those who are already now, taking advantage of the moment, are ready to run and demonstrate what a true patriot he is? As, for example, the ex-artistic director of the Gorky Moscow Art Theater, Mr. Boyakov, prepared to spit at Urgant in a big way.
Now the most successful theater in the country, frankly, is beheaded. Without such a leader, whether he will stay at the height set by Tuminas is a question of questions. For the time being, the theater will be managed by the director – Kirill Krok, a very strong leader, and in his address to the troupe he wrote the following: “Dear Vakhtangovites! In our 101st theatrical season, we are going through very difficult, I would say, tragic times. I am sure that you all read, see and know… I talked to Rimas yesterday. He understands the depth of his act and said that we must do what is best for the theater in order to preserve the best that we have. Therefore, I appeal to everyone and, above all, to the artists: remember that now only you and I are responsible for the theater. Just us and no one else. It is very easy to destroy everything that is. To build is insanely difficult, and sometimes unrealistic… Our answer is the same: the Vakhtangov Theater continues to work, to play every day. Let’s think about theater. Once again: we are in for a very difficult period for the survival of the theater. We will have a meeting with the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation in mid-May. So far, there are no talks about a momentary search or appointment of an artistic director. Further, only after consultation with all of us, it is possible to come to a decision who will lead the Vakhtangov Theater in the future as artistic director.”
And I want to ask a question that tormented even before living in the new conditions: why aren’t those artistic directors (federal and Moscow) dismissed from their posts, under whose advanced leadership theaters with a history and reputation turned out to be completely unsound in just a few seasons – artistically and economically ? Tell me, from whom the domestic culture is more harmed?