Play about Chechen hostage-takers shut down
Authorities in Russia have banned a play that centres on a real hostage-taking at a Moscow theatre by Chechen rebels after its opening night.
Playwright Natalia Pelevine, who was born in Moscow and raised in Britain, says the Russian version of In Your Hands was shut down.
The play had its first public performance in Russia almost a month ago in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, which borders on Chechnya, and frequently experiences ambushes and bomb blasts by insurgents fighting for independence.
Pelevine says she was told by local officials after the performance that it would be its last.
"It was executed very much Soviet-style. Boom. Done. Tell them it's over," said Pelevine, who only recently revealed what happened.
The play centres on events that in 2002 when Chechen insurgents stormed Moscow's Dubrovka theatre, taking 700 audience members and performers hostage for three days.
A rescue operation, in which gas was pumped into the auditorium, resulted in the death of 120 hostages and all 40 rebels. Many relatives of the deceased called it a botched operation while Russian officials hailed it as a victory.
Pelevine threatens lawsuit
Dagestan President Mukhu Aliyev, who was in the audience on opening night, has denied he ordered the cancellation of the play.
However, Aliyev has said that he "did not like the production as a whole," accusing the play of making the hostage-takers look heroic.
He has also said that enemies of Russia could use the play to somehow destabilize the region.
Pelevine calls the statements preposterous and "mind-boggling," and told the Ria Novosti news agency in Russia on Friday that she was considering legal action.
"I will probably sue him. These are groundless, awful accusations uttered by the president of the regional republic," Pelevine said.
The central character in the play is a female insurgent and tells the story from her point of view.
Pelevine says her play is an attempt at trying to understand what motivates the hostage-takers. The character experiences hardship and the death of family members when the war in Chechnya breaks.
"Her desperation led her to become this monster," explains Pelevine. "Nothing is black and white."