Oleg Tabakov, Mark Zakharov, Yevgeny Mironov and other eminent Russian actors have signed a letter in support of the art director of the theater Gogol Center.

      The famous film and stage director Kirill Serebrennikov was searched on Tuesday in the course of a criminal investigation.

      Actress Chulpan Khamatova read the open letter at the rally in front of the theatre: "We, the colleagues and friends of Kirill Serebrennikov and Gogol-Center are shocked by today's events. Kirill Serebrennikov is one of the brightest contemporary Russian directors, whose merits are recognized not only in this country but throughout the world. We all know him as an honest, decent and open person”.

      On the morning of May 23, the Investigation Committee conducted searches in the Gogol Center and in the apartment of Kirill Serebrennikov.

      The department reports that these measures are related to investigating the case of the theft of 200 million rubles allocated from the budget for the project on developing and popularizing contemporary art in 2011-2014.