The unexpected news about the termination of Sergey Golomazov's cooperation with the Riga Russian Theater has caused a storm of emotions among the staff and the audience, writes LSM+.
Earlier, Sergey Golomazov himself limited his comments to the media, saying: "I was fired from the theater."
Now, the theater director Dana Bjork commented on the situation for LSM+:
Until today, the contractual relationship between the Theater and Sergey Anatolyevich Golomazov was built on two levels: firstly, he directed performances based on individual author contracts, like any invited director; secondly, he simultaneously held a staff position based on an employment contract, performing administrative and artistic duties.
In February 2026, it became known that Sergey Golomazov's status of stay in the country had changed some time ago. As a result, the employment contract lost its legal force. To conclude a new one, a certificate confirming knowledge of the state language at a high level (C1) was required, which Sergey Golomazov unfortunately does not have at the moment.
The Theater offered Sergey Golomazov a legally correct compromise — to switch to another form of contract that, alongside the author contracts, would allow him to perform work in the administrative and artistic line — those that the audience does not actually see, as they are not directly related to the creation of performances. (It should be emphasized once again that this context in no way concerns the author contracts for directorial work, as nothing has changed for the Theater in this regard.) Unfortunately, Sergey Golomazov ignored the offer to discuss any alternative to the employment contract. Sergey Golomazov did not respond to repeated verbal and written invitations to dialogue.
This situation has affected the feelings of everyone in the Theater, including myself, because we have been working with Sergey Anatolyevich for a long time. We have gone through a lot together: in 2018, he was invited by me to the Theater for a managerial position, during this time many wonderful performances were created, and many challenges and obstacles were overcome... It is very sad and even painful that today emotions hinder constructive dialogue.
The artists, of course, are also experiencing this, and that is normal. An actors' meeting was held during which I and other colleagues in the management team answered all questions as openly and clearly as possible. The majority of the acting staff, having received answers to their questions, clarified the situation that had developed. Although, of course, in any team there will be someone who remains steadfast in their views, ignoring facts and arguments. Because, perhaps, it is more convenient that way.
To finally clarify everything, it should be clearly stated that no one fired Sergey Golomazov. His employment contract lost its legal force due to a change in his legal status in the country, and the offer to continue cooperation in another form was left unanswered by Sergey Golomazov.
All rumors and discussions about his dismissal are pure speculation, especially from third parties, as no one except the direct participants knows all the details.
