Yulia Tsvetkova

Yulia Vladimirovna Tsvetkova (born 23 May 1993) is a Russian artist and activist from Komsomolsk-on-Amur. On the 11th of February 2020, she was recognized as a political prisoner. [1]

Yulia Tsvetkova
Юлия Владимировна Цветкова
Born (1993-05-23) May 23, 1993
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
NationalityRussian
OccupationFeminist Activist, Artist, Theater Director
AwardsIndex on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards Arts.
Websitefreetsvet.net

Biography

Tsvetkova’s mother, Anna Leonidovna Khodyreva, was born and raised in the city of Kirov. Khodyreva is a teacher by training, and also studied set design. She worked as a director’s assistant at the National Theatre for many years. Khodyreva founded the first early childhood education center in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in 1996.

From a young age, Tsvetkova was engaged in creative endeavors. By the age of thirteen she had her first solo exhibition at the Komsomolk-on-Amur modern art gallery. For several years she hosted “Amur Stars,” a youth program on the local television channel. She was designated as one of the gifted children of the Khabarovsk Territory.

At the age of 15, Tsvetkova left school with dreams of becoming a choreographer. She moved to Moscow at the age of 17, where she trained at a variety of dance schools, studying modern dance. Later, she studied martial arts and parkour. She received her ADAPT coaching certification from the London-based Parkour Generations, but was forced to end her sporting career due to injury.

Tsvetkova began studying direction and screenwriting at the London Film School, but due to personal reasons was forced to leave her studies and return to her hometown of Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Between 2013 and 2017 she conducted English, theatre, and dance classes for children. [2]

Activism

In 2018, Tsvetkova began her activism. She wrote and lectured on feminism, LGBT rights, anti-militarism, and the environment. [3]

On 9 September 2018, she opened a city community center for civic initiatives. The cultural center hosted weekly lectures, “Living Library” sessions, support groups for schoolchildren and mothers, environmental actions, and an inclusive market for handmade goods. [4]

In 2018 she founded the Merak Theatre Company, which staged original productions. The theatre was non-hierarchical, with actors actively participating in the production process. Shows included elements of improvisation, dance, and forum theatre. In 2018, Merak staged three performances: a dance based on Stravinsky’s Sacred Spring, a poetic performance about growing up, named “Evolution,” and an English-language show titled “The History of English.” In 2018, Merak performed at the largest venues in the city. “The History of English” was named one of the city’s top ten major productions. [5]

During the second half of 2018, the theatre was preparing four productions for the Color of Saffron activist art festival: a dance about the Prague Spring, a performance on prosecution titled “The Untouchables,” a satirical anti-war performance named “Bless the Lord and His Ammunition,” and a humorous performance titled “Pink and Blue” about the dangers of gender stereotypes. [6]

At the beginning of February, the theatre administrator received a call from city officials. A city employee asked about the performances and the festival, inquiring about the anti-war performance. The next day, the Merak’s venue had its permits revoked. Tsvetkova appealed to the media to publicize this illegal interference into the youth festival’s activity. After receiving media attention, Tsvetkova and the theatre administrator were summoned to speak to city officials. The officials asked that they not spread negative publicity about the city, and to not conduct performances based on anti-militaristic themes or about persecution.[7] [8]

The theatre found a new venue, and preparations for the festival continued. The second week of March police arrived at the local school and interrogated the theatre’s underage actors. They conducted these interrogations without the presence of the children’s parents, and asked them about “homosexual propaganda” and extremism. The next day, the owner of the festival’s new venue was summoned to speak to city officials, where she was told that she would be stripped of her property should she hold an “LGBT Festival.” [9]

Tsvetkova decided that the performances should be shown regardless, but to a closed audience of the performer’s parents, and select members of the press. The audience numbered 15 spectators, and the performance was filmed.

In June, Merak Theatre Company released “Fairy Tales – Realistic Tales,” an English performance about Russian fairy tales. In November 2019, the recording of the performance of “Pink and Blue” was screened at the St. Petersburg Feminist Festival “Eve’s Ribs.” The show was also attended by the police.

On December 3rd, 2019, the Theatre Critics Association published an open letter in support of Tsvetkova’s artistic, educational, and civil activities.

Criminal charges

Declared a political prisoner by the Memorial society.[10]

According to Memorial's human rights advocates, the criminal prosecution against Yulia is connected to her public position and the importance of her role in the feminist movement. [11]

She is the organizer of the activist art festival Saffron Flower (in Russian) and the founder of the “Woman--not doll” project which destigmatizes the female body. She is also the director of the “Merak” youth theater. [12]

Yulia was accused of illegal production and traffic of pornographic material through the Internet. The prosecutor requested a prison sentence from 2 to 6 years for her for managing a feminist website "The Vagina Monologues", likening its content to pornography. [13] [14]

She is under house arrest since 22 November 2019. [15] The investigation against her began on 24 October 2019 after a report from well-known “Jihadist Moral” activist Timur Bulatov. On December 13, 2019, while under house arrest, Yulia Tsvetkova was declared guilty according to the homophobic "gay propaganda" law for committing an administrative offense by promoting non-traditional sexual relations between minors through the Internet and was fined 50.000 rubles for publishing content regarding the rights of LGBT groups on the web. [16]

On January 17, 2020 Yulia was informed of a new charge included in the same report for her picture with the text: "Family is where love is. I support LGTB+ families". [17] On July 10, was fined 75,000 roubles ($1,000) on charges of spreading "gay propaganda" among minors by publishing drawings of same-sex couples with children online.[18] [19] On February 24, 2020 Tsvetkova informed her friends and followers on social networks about the threats and blackmail coming from the extremist homophobic group “The Saw” ("Пила").

On February 26, 2020 Tsvetkova filed a complaint against the Investigation Committee regarding the illegitimate restriction of her right to medical care during her house arrest.

On March 2, 2020 the police informed of a new complaint from Bulatov against Yulia's mother - Anna Khodyreva, in which he accuses her of propagandizing unconventional values.

On April 16, 2020 Yulia Tsvetkova received the international award "Index on Censorship" under the “Art” category, becoming the second Russian woman to receive this award after Anna Politkovskaya. [20] [21]

On June 27, 2020 over 30 female activists detained after one-person protests in support of Yulia Tsvetkova in Moscow.[22] [23] On July 7, 2020 the third administrative case opened against Tsvetkova under Russia’s “gay propaganda law” [24]

She was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[25]

References
  1. "Feminist artist Yulia Tsvetkova is a political prisoner, Memorial says | Human Rights Center MEMORIAL". memohrc.org.
  2. "Это круто — когда у тебя есть что-то, за что ты готова сесть". holod.media.
  3. https://femen.org/respect-our-existence-or-expect-our-resistance/
  4. "Memorial Human Rights Centre: Yulia Tsvetkova is a political prisoner". February 29, 2020.
  5. "Russian Artist Faces Six Years in Jail for Pro-LGBTQ Social Media Posts". Hyperallergic. January 14, 2020.
  6. "Russian Activist Faces Unfounded Pornography Charges". Human Rights Watch. December 3, 2019.
  7. https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2021043.html
  8. https://www.sibreal.org/a/30289163.html
  9. "Russian LGBT Activist Faces Prison Time Over Social-Media Pages" – via www.rferl.org.
  10. "In Russia's far east, a feminist theatre director comes under attack". openDemocracy.
  11. "The Kremlin's Political Prisoners: The Case of Yulia Tsvetkova". www.4freerussia.org. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  12. "Russia: Theatre Director Yulia Tsvetkova Arrested and Charged for "Gay Propaganda" | ACAR".
  13. Times, The Moscow (June 10, 2020). "LGBT Activist Charged With Pornography for Body-Positive Vagina Drawings". The Moscow Times.
  14. https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/02/russia-yulia-tsvetkova-feminist-arrested-gay-propaganda-police-vagina-art/
  15. "Document". www.amnesty.org.
  16. "Russian feminist activist faces porn charges for running Vagina Monologues art group on social media". Meduza (in Latin). 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  17. "Urgent call for release of Prisoner of Conscience Yulia Tsvetkova!". Norwegian Helsinki Committee. March 10, 2020.
  18. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/07/10/russia-fines-lgbt-ctivist-for-gay-propaganda-drawings-a70845
  19. https://news.trust.org/item/20200710152525-niouv/?fbclid=IwAR3HyfHJZzAhefv_Qrw6wKnqq2Vfvj3nKDO5BM2xOseWySrUyp2odL6x_OI
  20. Censorship, Index on (April 16, 2020). "Arts 2020".
  21. Censorship, Index on (February 13, 2020). "2020 Arts shortlist: Using rap and YouTube satire to protect free speech".
  22. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/27/over-30-protesters-arrested-in-moscow-for-supporting-lgbt-activist-rights-group
  23. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/07/06/russian-women-rally-behind-feminist-political-prisoner-a70768
  24. Tsvetkova, Yulia (2020-07-07). "Russian LGBTQ activist faces 'gay propaganda' charges for the third time". Meduza. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10.
  25. "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
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