Alexander Molochnikov and Yuri Dud*

Director Alexander Molochnikov became the new hero of the YouTube series “vdud”. We have collected the most interesting quotes.

About the wedding and separation with Catherine Barnabas

We are in good friendly relations. We do not live together. They broke up for a number of reasons that are hard to explain. There was no specific reason. Something went wrong. Of course, I made mistakes that I’m ashamed of, but we broke up with each other. Relationships have given me a lot. Katya healed me.

I think we got married at the beginning of March. It was the shortest wedding ever. We had planned to go to America together… Katya went to the dressing room and said, “I think it’s time for us to get married.” I replied: “Come on!”. We went to the civil registration office without thinking that we would disperse in a short time. This is extremely embarrassing. They signed where few people were, it was a private detention center. It also asks us, “With or without ritual?” he was asked. I was laughing too, Katya, before I left this room. This was amazing.

I really want children, I hope in a few years there will come a period when I want to write a screenplay and I will have the opportunity to go somewhere and take care of the child for at least the first year. If I’m a shitty dad eating dinner with someone in the evening and someone looks at him and says, “Where are your kids now?” I will not forgive myself if he thinks so. I’m going to gnaw at myself, but I can’t slow down what I’m doing now. In the case of Katya, we would have decided that. They would fix everything.

Ekaterina Varnava and Alexander Molochnikov first appeared together at the Kinotavr festival in September 2020.

About the initiative group for the investigation of anti-Russian activities (GRAD)

I shot this moment in Tunisia when I got on the list of foreign influence agents. I was lucky, we worked with such enthusiasm that I did not react to it in any way. Yes, I noticed such garbage. It wasn’t a mega event for me. Then I thought about this and about Zakhar Prilepin (the author is part of GRAD. – Approx. ed.), incl. I watched that meeting, surprised to be surrounded by gray personalities.

On being expelled from the Bolshoi Theater

Officially, this is formulated as: “on pause.” Although I think this is the pause of a lifetime. At least until the moment when everything changes globally. There was an explanation: Allegedly, the Ministry of Culture was flooded with letters from citizens thirsting for justice.

How to live without work for two years?

I will be studying at Columbia University School of the Arts for two years. If it works, I’ll remove it. I’ve had a lot of directing practice in the last eight years but no training and no theory. The dishonesty complex bubbled up inside me. About 3-4 years ago, I wanted to study cinema very much because cinema requires great technical knowledge.

As long as I have cash. I wondered how much it would cost to live in New York. I hope I still have time to earn something during the year. I think it will be difficult because the training is very intense: 9 parallel programs 24/7. I have no attachment to comfort, I’ve been living pretty well in Moscow lately. Now it will be a dorm room or an apartment with someone else, I just need a bed.

About the American passport

I lived here as a kid, my mom brought me here, we both lived in the US for about five years and got passports. Then my mother’s husband got a job in an American company in Russia, and according to the rules, the citizenship of family members was accelerated. The American passport has never been a problem for me, on the contrary, visa-free entry is everywhere.

About what you don’t like in Russia

There are no laws, you cannot predict anything. Even illegal things are not calculated. It seems to me that there are enough men from the same theatrical environment who understand this. And a hipster warehouse definitely has passive men: their career, figure and hairstyle are important to them. We are all a little guilty of our passivity.

About relations with Konstantin Bogomolov

They are not here. Since the fall, we have had several contacts and several conversations on technical issues. After that, our relationship ended. I think I have offended him to some extent, he does not see the prospects for further cooperation. So we parted in silence.

Molochnikov’s last performance was staged at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. After the election of the mayor of Moscow, Konstantin Bogolomov became the artistic director of the theater (supported Sergei Sobyanin in the elections. – Approx. ed.).

On February 24, Molochnikov talked about the start of a military special operation in Ukraine. He addressed the citizens of Ukraine: “I do not want to talk about ordinary things, forgive me if possible, for God’s sake.” He deleted his post shortly after. In August, the director was suspended from productions at the Bolshoi Theater of the operas Francesca da Rimini and Florentine Tragedy. Earlier, a group of lawmakers and cultural figures had demanded Molochnikov’s dismissal for speaking out against the military special operation in Ukraine. On September 3, the Malaya Bronnaya Theater canceled Molochnikov’s performances. He is currently studying at Columbia University in New York.

*Yuri Dud is recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation.