"To spite everyone": The organizer of a theater festival in Yekaterinburg, who was denied a grant by officials, is ready to hold it at his dacha.

This year the Sverdlovsk Ministry of Culture did not give Funding for the Kolyada-Plays theater festival, which has been held since 1994 and has become one of the region's symbols. Officials explained their refusal by citing the event's organizers' "failure to report on time" for previous grants.

After this, the founder of the festival and a famous Sverdlovsk director Nikolay Kolyada запустил public collection: in a month he managed to raise about 600 thousand (or 39% of the required amount).

The festival is scheduled to open on June 20, with 39 performances scheduled for 11 days. The organizing committee is currently processing permits from regulatory authorities and has even received a safety data sheet. However, Kolyada stated that he is wary of all kinds of inspections.

“We are expecting a visit from the tax office, firefighters, Rospotrebnadzor, the sanitary and epidemiological station and all other punitive bodies, wrote He's on social media. — The festival will still take place in any weather and under any circumstances: to spite everyone, if you like."

The director emphasized that he is ready to hold the festival at his dacha if this is not allowed in the city.

Let us remind you that in June 2023, on the eve of the festival, the Nikolai Kolyada Theatre came FSB officers arrived to check his anti-terrorist security. Then they cut off his electricity.

The private drama theater "Kolyada Theater" has been operating in Yekaterinburg since 2001. During this time, it has become one of the city's main attractions. For over 20 years, the theater has been hosting the International Open Playwrights Competition "Eurasia," whose main goal is to discover talented young authors. Each year, several hundred plays are submitted to this competition.

You can help raise funds for the Kolyada Plays here.