Searches, seizure of property, charges of embezzlement: the head of the Moscow Art Theater was removed from office

The general director of the Moscow Art Theater named after Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Kekhman, has been removed from his post. This is reported by TASS with reference to an informed source.

"Vladimir Abramovich Kekhman has been removed from the post of general director of the Gorky Moscow Art Theater," the source said.

As reported by EADaily, in July of this year, the security forces came with a search to the director of the Moscow Art Theater named after M. Gorky and the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater Vladimir Kekhman. On the same day, investigative actions were carried out in the building of the Moscow Art Theater. Kekhman himself was taken to The Investigative Committee for questioning. It was clarified that during the searches in the building of the Moscow Art Theater and the director general himself, documentation was seized.

A criminal case was opened against Kekhman on embezzlement during the reconstruction of the old theater stage (part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Later, investigative measures were carried out in Mikhailovsky Theater. It was planned to seize documents in the offices of the theater's management and interview the administration staff of the institution.

Later it became known about another criminal case involving Kekhman, under part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code ("Receiving a bribe on an especially large scale").

According to Fontanka, in the framework of two criminal cases involving Kekhman, his property and relatives of the cultural figure were arrested.