Putin promises to get things straight with Cirque du Soleil in Moscow
Vladimir Putin has promised to investigate the opening of a new venue of the Canadian circus, Cirque du Soleil, in the Skolkovo Center in Moscow.
While speaking at a council session, Edgard Zapashny, director of the Great Moscow Circus, drew the president’s attention to the fact that a stationary venue of the Cirque du Soleil is to be opened in the Skolkovo Center in 2019. The artist considers this “unacceptable” because he fears it will negatively affect the Russian circus and Russian sport. However, he noted that “no one is stopping [them] from coming to us on tours, but it is unlikely that Montreal would give us the opportunity to open a branch of the Russian circus or theater”.
“The gates shouldn’t be thrown open wide, I don’t know, of course spectators want to watch, but I am most likely on your side – to watch is one thing, but to let them expand on our soil, on our base – that’s another story entirely, my position is very close to yours. We’ll deal with this separately,” Putin said.
In January 2017, the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Culture suggested introducing legislative restrictions against foreign circuses in the country.
“Why are we protecting cucumbers and tomatoes, but not protecting culture? It is very important for us to maintain our circus school – it is unique for us. But to compete with the Cirque du Soleil is unrealistic, due to the enormous budgets,” observed council chairman Pavel Pozhigaylo.
Cirque du Soleil (“Circus of the Sun”) is a Canadian entertainment company that was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix. The company comprises of nearly 4,000 people, which enables troops to perform simultaneously in several countries. The acrobatic shows exhibit a mixture of circus and street art.