Elena Kovalskaya, director of a state-run theatre in Moscow, has resigned today in protest at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She referred to Vladimir Putin as a “killer” as she publicly announced that she was stepping down from her role.
Kovalskaya, who is director of the Meyerhold Centre Theatre said:
“Friends, in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I am resigning.”
And she added:
“You can’t work for a killer and get paid by him.”
She has said that she will bring her current projects to an end.
Response from the theatre:
The theatre which takes its name from the Russian playwright Vsevolod Meyerhold described Russia’s relentless aggression in Ukraine as something that has “now come into tragic conflict with our mission.”
“We cannot be silent about this. We only have this left to say: ‘No to war.’
“War is much more than disrespect for a person, and much more horrifying. War is the death of a person, it is the killing of people.”
The theatre also thanked Kovalskaya for her “courage.”
