The prosecution's case against Evgenia Berkovich relied almost entirely on an expert report from a non-existent scientific field called "destructology." This tactic creates an unchallengeable, pseudo-objective basis for a politically motivated verdict, bypassing traditional legal evidence and argumentation.
The prosecution's secret witness argued that the play was criminal because its subtext implied that "Russian institutions of the state and society" were to blame for the characters' suffering. This legal theory makes any art not explicitly pro-state potentially illegal, as negative interpretations can be framed as a crime.
Facing a court that refused to watch or read the play in question, the defense team transformed the proceedings into a performance. They had actors read monologues from the play and scholars lecture on the nature of art, using the courtroom itself as a stage to highlight the trial's disconnect from reality.
The 'destructology' report used to convict Berkovich was rooted in a 2022 Putin executive order targeting "ideas and values alien to the Russian people." This shows a shift from prosecuting under existing law to creating ad-hoc ideological frameworks that serve as the foundation for politically motivated show trials.
Director Evgenia Berkovich was not a political activist; she aimed to live a normal life and create art exploring human compassion. Her trial reveals that when a state becomes extremist, the simple act of portraying dignified, independent life free from state ideology is considered a subversive and criminal act.
While many free-thinking Russians either fled the country or fell silent after the 2022 invasion, Evgenia Berkovich chose a third path: she stayed in Russia while continuing to write and create, including anti-war poetry. Her refusal to conform to the state-imposed dichotomy of exile or submission made her an intolerable example.