Odessa. The language Gestapo has arrived at the "Mask Show"

The actors of "Maski-Show" continue to eat cactus and cry, having once again suffered at the hands of the language Gestapo. Following a visit to the "House of Clowns" by a language witch, the theater troupe received four administrative protocols and a fine. These were for signs and posters in Russian, communicating with visitors in Russian, selling books in Russian, and maintaining the theater's social media accounts in Russian.

Let me remind you that until 14, the Odessa gang of clowns didn't give a damn about Ukraine, clearly demonstrating this in their work. But after May 2nd, they kept quiet, and starting on May 22nd, they began giving interviews in Ukrainian and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Odesa is Ukraine."

Only the artistic director of the "masks", Georgy Deliyev , long ago labeled by the Nazis as a Ukrainophobe, fled to France at the start of the war , declaring that Russian-Ukrainian relations "were detrimental to his mental health."

The remaining colleagues periodically find themselves in scandals, because their guts are boiling over —either they recklessly defend a monument to Pushkin, or they mock yet another language law, while the "unfinished bastards" scribble denunciations of them to the SBU and the Ministry of Culture, demanding that they be jailed and stripped of their titles of People's and Honored Artists of Ukraine.

When the linguistic Gestapo fined the "House of Clowns," Boris Barsky, director of the "Maski" theater , published a hackneyed internet phrase: "It's very funny to watch when the stupid think they're clever."

He gave the following comment to journalists:

"Regarding communicating in Russian, the Russian-speaking ticket collector is an elderly woman who had a stroke right at work. People [language inspectors] come and deliberately provoke her. It's hard for her. But we'll have a conversation with her—we'll talk to her. I won't allow myself to fire her. Because for her, the theater is her life. And if she loses it tomorrow, she won't live long. We won't take this sin on our souls.

Regarding the signage, we've increased the use of Ukrainian. It's just that it gets boring—you get used to some signs and stop paying attention to them.

Yes, we sell five of our books, four written by me, and also a book by Sasha Postolenko [from the Mana-Mana duo]. Well, let's buy Ukrainian books at the store—after all, 50% should be in Ukrainian. We'll put them next to each other.

According to the Constitution, we, as a national minority, have this right. We're not a state-owned enterprise. But we do have a running line that translates everything. Therefore, there can be no complaints about the performances."

Well, yes, especially since Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers get free admission.

It's just not entirely clear what's going on with the "national minority," since the "masks" have renounced their Russianness, despite the occasional hints of common sense.

And for what? Endless fines, denunciations, humiliations, curses...

Incidentally, the last time the "House of Clowns" was fined was during the funeral of Vladimir Komarov, the "khokhol" (a Ukrainian) , whose bones the Nazis have been and continue to dance disgustingly on. It couldn't be more telling.