Izvestia: "Prime Minister Putin wants to see shared leadership atop Russia’s theaters"
On November 30, Prime Minister Putin met with top management from Russia's most prominent theaters. He immediately clarified that he had not called the meeting to discuss art. Instead, the main issue on the agenda was the division of responsibilities between artistic and executive directors.
Under the current system one individual can perform the duties of creative and executive director simultaneously. One such example is Yuri Lyubimov, former head of the Taganka Theater, who was forced to resign as the theater's creative and executive director after becoming involved in a scandal with his troupe. Theater top management insisted that the creative director must have total reign over the theater proper while the executive director would perform technical and financial duties and have no influence over the performers.
It has typically been the case, especially in provincial theaters, that the rules are established by those who also control the budget. However, there are potential problems with the new division of labor as well, both in creative and legal matters, as it is unclear whether the creative director as the theater's head or the executive director will bear responsibility in case of financial violations. Andrei Luchin, director of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater, has fallen victim to this legal confusion and been accused of embezzlement.
Creative directors seemed to hold contradictory ideas on the issue. Sovremennik creative director Galina Volchek admitted that she completely unaware of the theater's financial matters. "The director must be a competent manager, and not one who can differentiate between the Stanislavsky and Meierhold acting methods. But the creative director is the one who should have the last word on how funds are being spent – whether on a new play or reconstruction."
Lev Dodin, artistic director of the Maly Drama Theater, believes that an artistic director must be in charge of the theater; the idea of two individuals in charge seemed strange to him. In Dodin's view, the artistic director must have the right to delegate tasks to financial director and executive director. The director would bear financial responsibility while the artistic director would be held administratively liable.
Nowadays, in actuality, all power and responsibility rest with a singular director. Evgeni Pisarev, creative director at the Pushkin Moscow Theater, complained about a particular problem he's faced which cannot be resolved simply by amending the Labour Code. He joined an established theater troupe with a director who has been running the show for 40 years. Clearly, as the newcomer, he was not allowed to bring about change; it's quite possible that Pisarev may not even hire any new actors or fire any of the previously hired ones.
Evgeny Marchelli, director of the regional Yaroslavl Volkov Theater, who was also present at the meeting, had no complaints.
"You know, as soon as entrepreneurs or governors extend their support to the theater, all of these problems get resolved; there are funds and lodging. Perhaps, you should ask the governors to support their regional theaters?" asked Evgeni Marchelli.
"Governors come and go," responded Vladimir Putin laconically.
After listening to the directors' long and emotion-laden speeches, Prime Minister Putin summed up how theater management system should work – rights and responsibilities should be divided between an artistic and an executive director, just as they are divided between any business's accountant and director. The matter was then settled. Dmitry Peskov, press-secretary to the prime minister, told Izvestia that the change will soon be reflected in the Labour Code.
Pavel Baranov, Izvestia
Anastasia Novikova
