At the Chekhov Theater - the trouble from the mind: dismissed director Golomazov accuses director Bjork 0 15

Who is to blame?

In this situation, three fundamental Russian questions immediately arise - "Who is to blame?" (Hertzen), "What to do?" (Chernyshevsky), "What is the score?" (idle bystanders, not just sports fans). Let's start with "Who is to blame?"

The Riga theater has had a long-standing friendly relationship with Sergey Anatolyevich. Back in 1993, he made his directorial debut here, staging a play based on the novel by Françoise Sagan "When the Horse Loses Consciousness." A year later, his "Falcons and Crows" took flight on this stage. Over the years, he has directed several excellent productions here, and in 2018, when actress Dana Bjork became the theater's director, it was on her recommendation that Mr. Golomazov became the artistic director of the theater.

Before this, he, a citizen of Russia, worked as the artistic director of the highly respected Theater on Malaya Bronnaya in Moscow from 2007 to 2019.

Each production by Sergey Anatolyevich is a masterful work and, as a rule, a long-lasting hit. Many plays are still in the repertoire. "Warsaw Melody" (2009), "The Grönholm Method" (2011), "The Road to Dover" (2013), "Dangerous Turn" (2015), "Almost Happiness" (2017), "1900. The Legend of the Pianist" (2017), "The Count of Monte Cristo. I am Edmond Dantès" (2019), "Cancun" (2019), and later also "Long Live the Queen, Hooray!", "Flight 2025-2026", "The Bench", "Tartuffe", "Central Park West", "Six Sherlocks".

Then suddenly the war in Ukraine happened, after which there were troubles in the theater, but not too dramatic. In particular, the nationally oriented Minister of Culture of Latvia, Nauris Puntulis, noted that Golomazov still teaches theater arts at the Moscow GITIS.

As a result, Sergey Anatolyevich left this Moscow job in 2023, focusing on the Russian theater in Riga.

Latvian bosses in the Russian theater

The situation was further complicated by the fact that the artistic leadership of the theater was diluted by a triumvirate - director Dana Bjork, who became the head of artistic projects Laura Groza (in the last year she requests to be mentioned under her creative pseudonym Laura), and a resident playwright, once an actor of the Dailes theater, Arturs Ditsis.

Officially, the goal became attracting the Latvian audience to the theater, as well as introducing the Russian-speaking audience to the history of Latvia. Here, Laura's work "In Ball Shoes Through Siberian Snows" based on the memoirs of the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Sandra Kalniete, who was once in exile, was quite relevant (by the way, Golomazov responded very warmly to this production).

There were also invited directors - for example, the chief director of Dailes, Viesturs Kairišs, who staged Shakespeare's "Hamlet" with direct analogies relating to the current Russian elite.

Citizen of Russia Golomazov avoided direct analogies; he looked broader, speaking about the duplicitous essence of power, for example, in the already classic play "Long Live the Queen, Hooray!" By the way, one of the main roles was played by director Dana Bjork.

Features of national residence permit

Behind all this, those familiar with the backstage intrigues saw a sort of cover for the well-known director, who, no matter how you look at it, is a citizen of Russia. Such individuals are currently viewed with understandable suspicion, even those who seem to have an anti-Putin position (let's recall the scandal with the "Dozhd" TV channel, which after emigrating from Moscow to Riga soon had to relocate to free Amsterdam).

Considering also that Golomazov, while holding a position in a state institution (the theater is state-owned), did not speak the language of Rainis and Aspazija. Golomazov's position was renamed, and he was able to stage productions not only in Riga but also in Tallinn, at Venu teatr (as the Russian theater of Estonia is now called) - there his productions remain magnificent (we saw them during exchange tours).

But Sergey Anatolyevich had and still has a residence permit (permanent residence) in Latvia, which, however, has several categories. This became clear after a collision arose in early April. As Dana reported (in the theater, she is simply called "Dame"), Golomazov's status of residence in Latvia changed.

It turns out there is a residence permit status related to the acquisition of real estate, there is one related to work, as it was before. And now it is a status related to family reunification (Sergey Anatolyevich has had two children with a citizen of Latvia, who, by the way, is an actress of the Chekhov theater, during his years of work in Riga). This became known after Golomazov first informed the press that things were not so simple - and a scandal erupted.

"You are my enemy, I am your enemy"

On the surface of the scandal, there was foam - the director needs to know the language of Rainis and Aspazija at the highest level C1 for a managerial position in the state theater. Why this requirement became relevant right now is unknown to us.

But the director is dissatisfied that the director invited him for a conversation via SMS on mobile. He rejected this offer - he needs an official invitation.

Then there were discussions that Golomazov never raised his voice in the theater (this is true) - unlike the director (anything is possible). It's sad - there was such friendship, and now, as in the song by Raimonds Pauls performed by Valery Leontiev, who has long given up and lives in sunny Florida, "Eclipse of the Sun": "The garden darkened in broad daylight - you are my enemy, I am your enemy."

One can assume backstage intrigues - the Ministry of Culture, under which the Chekhov theater is located, is under particularly close scrutiny from Latvian nationalists. And here, in the leadership, is a whole citizen of Russia, who also does not speak the state language.

Sergey Anatolyevich himself acknowledged that this is indeed the case - he attended Latvian language courses, but for full immersion in the language, he needs to immerse himself in the appropriate environment, and he is all the time in the theater, and even in Russian!

What to do?

Immediately letters flew - signed by as many as forty figures of the Chekhov theater. The authors of the letter did not disclose their names, fearing reprisals from the rampaging Dana Bjork.

What should the director do, whose steps are being watched with a magnifying glass by the Ministry of Culture? And whose second term as director has not yet ended (and after its completion, she can become a deserved actress or even a deputy - she has experience!). And what should the director do? Refuse citizenship? Become stateless? Move to Estonia or Germany? There are options.

It seems correct that the main thing is not to remain silent, otherwise, at best, they will quietly remove you from the staff, and then you will have neither creative, nor economic, nor social guarantees.

The director says that all this was preceded by a creative conflict. For example, he wanted to stage the immortal "Woe from Wit" by Alexander Griboedov, but the project was rejected. You understand, Griboedov was not only a Russian classic but also a diplomat (though long since innocently murdered in Persia, but that's beside the point). In the end, what? Right, "a carriage for me, a carriage, I am no longer a rider here!"

What is the score?

Director Dana voiced a fragment of the correspondence via WhatsApp with director Sergey: "You are burning bridges behind you!" And that’s true.

So we leave it to the esteemed theater audience, as well as to the readers of our newspaper, to answer the sacramental question "What is the score?" (and in whose favor?).