Kirill Serebrennikov: Prosecutors seek 6-year prison sentence for Russian director

Director traded in taboo-breaking film and theatre – and found himself facing embezzlement charges, writes Oliver Carroll

(Reuters)

In closing arguments on Monday, state prosecutors asked a Moscow court to sentence the prominent film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov to six years in a corrective labour colony – a judgment that would likely put the Kremlin at loggerheads with many in its own ranks as well as with the wider cultural elite.

The director is one of four people who stand accused of defrauding the state over grants awarded to develop experimental theatre in 2010. Mr Serebrennikov and his co-defendants have emphatically denied the charges, and their trial is seen by many to be politically motivated.

Besides six years on a prison colony for Mr Serebrennikov, the state also recommended fines and multi-year custodial sentences to theatre manager Alexey Malobrodsky, former culture ministry official Sofia Apfelbaum and producer Yury Itin.