Police investigators raided the Gogol Centre in Moscow and took its renowned artistic director Kirill S. Serebrennikov in for questioning as part of a corruption investigation. Raids at the Gogol Center and Mr. Serebrennikov’s apartment took place on Tuesday 23rd of May, and he was released late that night after hours of questioning. For now, Serebrennikov is a witness and not longer a suspect in the case, which formally does not concern the Gogol Center. Many artists and theater and film directors feared the raids might signal a crackdown on artistic freedom and voiced their support of Serebrennikov in letters to President Putin.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Die Welt