Retired special services veteran Alexander Mikhailov confirmed the
claim, saying that the department supervised theaters and museums.
“Highly qualified specialists work in that department, who understand
culture and art,” he was cited as saying.
As part of its work, the
FSB branch taps phone conversations, controls written correspondence, inspects
facilities and embeds its own agents in the cultural scene, Mikhailov said.
“Cultural
institutions can be used by the enemy for propaganda purposes, as
structures that form a hostile attitude toward Russia,” he was cited as
saying.
Five current and former Gogol Center and Seventh Studio executives, including Serebrennikov, have been implicated in the case.
The case is widely considered to be politically motivated — a claim Russia’s Culture Minister has denied.