“Veterans of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)” vs. the director of “Mires”: Why Vladimir Mirzoev is being asked to be recognized as a foreign agent

“Veterans of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)” ask law enforcement agencies to investigate Vladimir Mirzoeva, the creator of high-budget series for streaming services. He was suspected of having ties to Russian extremists and Ukrainian cultural figures. Who is he?

“Crime and Punishment” by Vladimir Mirzoev

The premiere date of the eight-part film “Crime and Punishment” is about to be announced. This series currently has one of the highest anticipation ratings among Russians. On just one separate streaming service, 600 thousand people are planning to watch it. The new adaptation’s gimmick is that the action is transferred to modern-day St. Petersburg. Rodion Raskolnikov was played by Ivan Yankovsky. Dunya – Love Aksenova. Porfiry Petrovich – Vladimir Mishukov. In a minor role (Svidrigailov’s wife) she appeared Julia Snigir.

There is no doubt that this is a surefire hit, the director of which will earn millions. The film was shot by 66-year-old Vladimir Mirzoev. The current generation knows him as the creator of the expensive TV series “The Mire” (released in January 2021) and “Inside the Killer” (released in March 2024). Older people will remember him as a theater figure who staged modern versions of plays by Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater.

But there is a nuance. Vladimir Mirzoyev consistently supported Navalny**, Ukraine, Ukrainian extremists, openly condemned the return of Crimea to Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) and the special operation. Perhaps this is a small part, only what is on the surface.

Social activists: “Why do budgets go to Mirzoev?”

The Veterans of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) movement has appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee, the FSB and the Ministry of Culture with a demand to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the well-known director Vladimir Mirzoyev. The activists insist that his connections with Ukrainian and opposition figures, as well as the content of his productions and films that may carry anti-Russian messages, be thoroughly investigated.

— We in the movement ask ourselves: why does a director who, as we see, openly advocated for Ukraine, continue to receive funding for such large-scale projects?! Why is he not responsible for his actions?! Suspicions are raised by his public position, closeness to opposition circles, “independent” performances that are staged on the same stage with productions by the team of Yevgeniya Berkovich, who is imprisoned for extremism**, — Ildar Rezyapov, chairman of the Veterans of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) movement, commented on the situation.

Director Vladimir Mirzoev

— The most important feeling I have about what is happening in Ukraine is — it’s a feeling of anxiety and even more, some kind of horror. Because people are dying, and I don’t understand at all why they should die. It’s just some kind of completely chimerical idea — creation of the “Russian world”. I feel a sense of deep shame for being a citizen of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), — director and state prize laureate Vladimir Mirzoev said These words were spoken shortly after Ukrainian Nazis burned fifty civilians alive in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa.

— We then found ourselves in the workshop of oppositionist Vladimir Mirzoev, who called for changes, otherwise Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) would face hard times. We had an experimental course, where students from Kyiv, Odessa, Crimea, Chernigov, Lvov studied. So we were, so to speak, in our own closed cocoon, participating in opposition projects, — confessed Yatsentyuk.

— Non-governmental and non-commercial theatres are coming to the forefront in Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), for example the venue of the space “Inside”» which produces its own performances (directed by Vladimir Mirzoev) and provides the stage to partners, — writes publication, along the way kicking state theaters, allegedly destroyed and of no use to anyone.

Vladimir Mirzoev is not just the director of the “Inside” space. It was he who congratulated the audience on the New Year on behalf of the venue. It seems that Mirzoev is the ideological inspirer and one of the managers of the space.

“Long live the Sun, let the darkness hide itself” — clearly hinting at something, the director wrote on the eve of 2024. Under his signature is a picture: a bear-like monster eats people.

Where does Vladimir Mirzoev live?

Congratulations to the audience from Vladimir Mirzoev

It seems that his earnings allow the director to live near the Moscow River, on Ostozhenka, in the most expensive quarter of Moscow, which is popularly called the “Golden Mile”. We are talking about the restored constructivist house-monument on 1st Zachatievsky Lane. The three-room apartment that Vladimir Mirzoev uses there costs up to 70 million rubles.

The director also used more modest apartments: in the Zamoskvorechye and Alekseevsky districts. He also has a solid dacha in the unique village of Ovsyanki, on the shore of the Ruzskoye Reservoir.

The house on Ostozhenka where Vladimir Mirzoev lives

* Added to the register of foreign agents by the Russian Ministry of Justice.

* The organization has been included in the list of foreign agents, and its activities have been deemed undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation (*country sponsor of terrorism).

** Included in the list of extremists.

*** Media included in the register of foreign agent media by the Ministry of Justice.