<p>London: Russian theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been added to an official list of "terrorists and extremists" as they await trial on charges of "justifying terrorism".</p><p>The pair were arrested in May last year. The charges against them relate to an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters.</p><p>The "terrorists and extremists" register is published online and run by Rosfinmonitoring, a state agency which is empowered to freeze the assets of people and entities on the list - even if they have yet to be convicted of a crime.</p>.<p>Berkovich, 38, and Petriychuk, 43, are among many thousands of people and entities who have been similarly designated in a crackdown on perceived subversive activity that intensified after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.</p><p>The Kremlin does not comment on individual cases but says Russia is engaged in an existential struggle with the West and needs to robustly uphold its laws and defend itself.</p><p>The play "Finist the Bright Falcon" was written by Petriychuk and premiered in 2020 under Berkovich's direction. The case arising from it has become a focus for fellow artists, human rights defenders and free speech campaigners.</p><p>In a court appearance in January, Berkovich addressed the judge in verse, satirising the repetitive and slow-moving pace of proceedings and describing the pain that she and her family were going through.</p><p>In the speech, a version of which was later released by Russian artists in a rap-style YouTube video with music and graphics - Berkovich said, in part:</p><p>"I’m in Russia, under investigation’s net,</p><p>Nowhere to escape, nothing to gain.</p><p>I still have two sick kids, don’t forget,</p><p>Whose childhoods are stolen, once again."</p>
<p>London: Russian theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been added to an official list of "terrorists and extremists" as they await trial on charges of "justifying terrorism".</p><p>The pair were arrested in May last year. The charges against them relate to an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters.</p><p>The "terrorists and extremists" register is published online and run by Rosfinmonitoring, a state agency which is empowered to freeze the assets of people and entities on the list - even if they have yet to be convicted of a crime.</p>.<p>Berkovich, 38, and Petriychuk, 43, are among many thousands of people and entities who have been similarly designated in a crackdown on perceived subversive activity that intensified after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.</p><p>The Kremlin does not comment on individual cases but says Russia is engaged in an existential struggle with the West and needs to robustly uphold its laws and defend itself.</p><p>The play "Finist the Bright Falcon" was written by Petriychuk and premiered in 2020 under Berkovich's direction. The case arising from it has become a focus for fellow artists, human rights defenders and free speech campaigners.</p><p>In a court appearance in January, Berkovich addressed the judge in verse, satirising the repetitive and slow-moving pace of proceedings and describing the pain that she and her family were going through.</p><p>In the speech, a version of which was later released by Russian artists in a rap-style YouTube video with music and graphics - Berkovich said, in part:</p><p>"I’m in Russia, under investigation’s net,</p><p>Nowhere to escape, nothing to gain.</p><p>I still have two sick kids, don’t forget,</p><p>Whose childhoods are stolen, once again."</p>