Russia orders arrest of famous producer and director for criticising Ukraine war

TALLINN, Estonia (AFP) – A Moscow court has ordered the arrest of prominent film producer Alexander Rodnyansky and theater director Ivan Viripayev for “spreading false information” about the Russian military. 

The first court hearing against Rodnyansky and Viripayev took place on April 27, but the court did not report until Wednesday.

According to the court’s press service, Rodnyansky and Vilipayev, who are outside Russia, will be detained as soon as Russian authorities successfully arrest or extradite them. In addition, the Russian Interior Ministry placed Vilipaev on the federal wanted list.

Kyiv-born Rodnyansky has been one of the most influential figures in Russian cinema in recent decades. He left Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 and has repeatedly publicly voiced his opposition to the war. In October 2022, the Russian Ministry of Justice declared Rodnyansky a “foreign agent”.

A popular playwright, director and actor, Viripayev has lived and worked in Warsaw for several years and has spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Also on Wednesday, a court in Moscow sentenced opposition figure and anti-war activist Mikhail Krieger to seven years in prison.

Krieger cited a 2020 social media post in which he praised the organizers of the attack on the Federal Security Service building and referred to the hanging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, alleging terrorism and violence. He was arrested in November on charges of inciting hatred through threats. Prosecutors on Tuesday sought nine years in prison. Krieger told the court just before his sentencing that he was being indicted for “anti-war and now openly pro-Ukrainian stances.”

Since Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, the government has continued its crackdown on dissidents like it has been since the Soviet era.

Criticism of the war was criminalized by the Kremlin’s thorough crackdown campaign. In addition to fines and prison sentences, defendants have been fired, blacklisted, branded as “foreign spies” and fled Russia.