Stanislav Moyyeyv appointed the new director of the Kyiv Young Theater in the middle of the harassment scandal | Ukraine News

The Kyiv Young Theater has appointed a new director – Stanislav Moiseev, who previously run this theater. His predecessor Andriy Bilous, who had been a director since 2012, submitted his resignation after serious allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct, as confirmed by official theater sources.

Stanislav Moiseev is a renowned theater director and associate professor at the department for actors at the Karpenko-Kary University. He also has experience as an artistic director of the IVAN Franko National Academic Drama Theater. Moiseev headed the young theater from 1996 to 2012. During this time, the theater took significant changes and attracted both Ukrainian and international directors such as Dmytro Bohomazov, Ihor Slavinsky and others.

One of his most remarkable works is the play “MoscowaDa”, which was created in collaboration with the Ukrainian writer Yuriy Andrukhovych and was nominated for the “Kyiv Pectoral” price in the “Best Director” category in 2006. In total, Moiseev managed over 60 productions, actively worked with classic dramaturgy and adapted them to contemporary contexts.

In 2014 he was recognized as one of the ten most influential theater directors in Ukraine, according to theater journalists from the magazine “Dzerkalo Tyzhnia”.

The reason for the dismissal of Andriy Bilus was accusations of his former students Sofiya Sapozhnik in January 2025. She claimed that the director asked her for intimate photos and encouraged the share of sexual fantasies. Subsequently, other former students anonymously confirmed similar incidents. At the end of January, the Young Theater employee of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) submitted an application to suspend Bilous from its position during the examination.

Initially, the KCSA found no reasons to reject Bilous without a court decision. The director himself denied all accusations and called her manipulation. On February 10, activists and theater workers organized a rally outside the KCSA building and supported the suspension of bilus. As a result, he was suspended by the duties by March 13, but on March 14, despite the commission's recommendation to terminate his contract, he returned to work.

At the beginning of May, Andriy Bilous announced his decision to withdraw to facilitate the tensions within the team and to normalize the operations of the theater. The productions on which he worked only remain in the repertoire of the young theater until the end of the current season, according to which they are removed.