The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has shifted the status of theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk from witnesses to suspects, according to a report cited by TASS from law enforcement sources.
In Moscow, Berkovich was detained, while her family indicated on social networks that attempts to contact her had failed. Petriychuk was detained at Vnukovo airport as part of ongoing proceedings. The change in status came amid a criminal case opened under Article 202.5 of the Criminal Code, relating to alleged justification of terrorism in connection with the performance Finist Yasny Sokol. Both Berkovich and Petriychuk are expected to appear before the Zamoskvoretsky Court in Moscow on May 5 for a restraining order determination, and investigators in the Moscow Central Administrative District have already questioned the suspects under their new status, as reported by authorities.
Earlier on the morning of May 4, officials announced that a criminal case had been opened in connection with the theatre production Finist Yasny Sokol. Berkovich and Petriychuk were initially summoned as witnesses, with this development confirmed by TASS at the time.
During the operation, Berkovich’s relatives and other associates experienced searches, and the apartment of writer and human rights activist Nina Caterli, Berkovich’s grandmother, was searched. Alexander Andrievich, who directs the theatre The Daughters of SOSO where the show was staged, also faced questioning but was released after testifying as a witness.
The play later staged by Berkovich in 2020 was adapted from Petriychuk’s writing and centers on Russian women recruited by radical Islamist networks to be sent online to Syria. The narrative draws on real-life sentences issued by Russian courts in similar criminal cases, aiming to explore the complex motivations and consequences surrounding these conduct-focused issues.
Finist Yasny Sokol earned two Golden Mask awards in 2022, receiving nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Playwright, highlighting its recognized artistic impact despite the contemporary controversy surrounding its content.
The production’s creators emphasized that the play and the performance depicted real sentences and investigation records involving women who faced legal scrutiny. They pointed to a broader pattern observed in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan in recent years, where many cases involved women in roles shaped by conflict and radical ideologies. The central questions raised include what motivates people to pursue or support extremist actions, how individuals respond to calls to belonging and identity, and how personal belief systems intersect with social and political pressures. The creators argued that the material does not advocate terrorism; rather it examines human experiences marked by loneliness, striving for meaning, and the tension between personal agency and criminal narratives. The theater’s public description of the piece, which later went offline, framed it as a study of these human dynamics rather than a political endorsement of violent acts, as reported by socialbites.ca and corroborated by critics who reviewed the production.
Actress Anastasia Sapozhnikova, who portrayed a lead role in the production, commented to Lente.ru that the performance does not promote or justify terrorism. She suggested that investigators may not have fully engaged with the text or the staging, and that the work presented a nuanced portrayal of how women encounter disruption and pressure in the context of extremism. Sapozhnikova noted that the piece explored not simply good or evil, but the complexity of choices made under intense personal strain. The interview highlighted that the portrayal aimed to reveal the human dimension of those affected rather than to endorse violent ideologies. Sapozhnikova described the characters as flawed and searching for identity, and she emphasized that the narrative invites reflection on loneliness, self-preservation, and the forces that can push people toward drastic actions.