TV channel 1+1 is outraged by the banning of the series "Matchmakers"

Yesterday, on November 28, 2017, Fedor Dobronravov, the actor who plays the main role in the series "Matchmakers", was added to the "black list" of the Ministry of Culture. Today, the distribution certificate of the series was canceled, as the head of Derzhkino announced on his Facebook page.

Since 2015, Ukraine has had a so-called "black list" of the Ministry of Culture. Currently, it includes 113 people who are considered to be a threat to the national security of Ukraine.

As far as we understand, the reason for Dobronravov getting into it and banning the series "Matchmakers" were the actor's statements about Crimea. However, why the question of banning a popular Ukrainian-produced TV series has arisen right now remains a mystery to us. On the other hand, other series and films with Dobronravov's participation, which were shown on Ukrainian TV, were ignored by the authorities.

For us, the selectiveness of the decisions regarding the inclusion of Russian actors in the "black list" is also incomprehensible to us, because there are still many artists who continue to participate in shootings and tours in Crimea. If the reason for banning the series was Dobronravov's visit to the occupied Crimea, then we appeal to all state bodies that regulate this issue with a request to clarify which of the products in which Fyodor Dobronravov participated will still be banned, as well as when similar actions were taken with regard to the following persons who also visited Crimea to participate in filming processes or on tours, as evidenced in publicly available sources: in particular, Leonid Kulagin, Kyrylo Kyaro, Olga Lomonosova, Tetyana Lyutayeva, Dmytro Dyuzhev, Antin Makarskyi, Oleksandr Golovin and others.

In our opinion, the time has come for an open discussion about the need to define clear criteria for making such decisions, because without a transparent system, such situations resemble a "witch hunt." We have repeatedly expressed our concern about the lack of criteria for forming such a list. Unsystematic actions discredit the joint efforts of the market regarding the consistent policy of supporting Ukrainian series and banning Russian products, which glorify the law enforcement agencies of the aggressor state. If we build a system, it must be transparent, if it is not, the system can easily become a censorship.

It should be noted that our group was the first to initiate a number of legislative processes to clean the airwaves of Russian products, in particular, the law banning TV series glorifying Russian troops and special forces. Now it includes those who directly supported the occupiers and shot at Ukrainian soldiers, and those who made a huge contribution to the development of cinema and television, but ended up among the signatories of fictitious propaganda letters of the Russian government.

For additional information, contact the press service 1+1, +38 044 490 0101; www.1plus1.ua