The former director of the embattled Moscow-based Gogol Center theater, Aleksei Malobrodsky, has been detained.
The Russian Investigative Committee said on June 20 that Malobrodsky, who also used to lead the Seventh Studio theater group, is suspected of alleged embezzlement and fraud.
His possible pretrial arrest is to be decided shortly, the committee said.
On May 23, the Gogol Center theater and the apartment of its current art director, Kirill Serebrennikov, were searched by investigators as part of the same case.
Serebrennikov, who is also the founder of the Seventh Studio group, has participated in antigovernment protests and voiced concern about the increasing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Also in late May, another former Seventh Studio director, Yury Itin, and the group's bookkeeper, Nina Maslyayeva, were arrested in connection with the investigation.
Prominent directors and actors in Russia and elsewhere, including ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov, have expressed concerns over the situation faced by the Gogol Center and have called for a transparent investigation.
