Head of the Young Theater Bilous says he has returned to his post
14 March 2025 19:50
Andriy Bilous, the artistic director of the capital’s Young Theater, who is accused of sexually harassing female students, has returned to his post after being suspended.
He stated this to hromadske, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
As Bilous explained, on February 10, he wrote a request on his own initiative to suspend him from his duties for a month to “avoid various speculations.”
“As of March 14, the Department of Culture (Kyiv City State Administration) still has no legal grounds to suspend or dismiss me from my position,” Bilous said.
A document from the department confirms that the head of the Young Theater was suspended until March 13 at his own request, the statement said.
Employees of the theater provided a recording of their meeting with the director of the Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration, Serhiy Anzhiyak, which took place on the morning of March 14.
The KCSA representative called on everyone to “treat every member of the staff with respect if we want to save this theater.” He also added that he had received another complaint about mobbing, but refused to specify who it was about due to confidentiality.
According to Anzhiyak, the commission that reviewed the complaints against Bilous has completed its work and prepared conclusions.
“So far, there is no understanding of how to implement some of the recommendations, such as the gender ratio of the cast in performances,” the official said, adding that he would meet with the commission on March 18 to clarify the details.
Other proposals include developing a code of ethics for the theater, conducting educational trainings on human rights, sexual harassment, and ways to protect oneself, and creating a committee to review complaints related to discriminatory behavior.
The commission also proposed to terminate Bilous’ contract if the department concludes that the Young Theater director’s actions have led to a loss of trust.
Anzhyak noted that the law refers to “loss of trust” as liability for the loss of cultural and material property, and it should be clarified whether the commission has investigated this issue.
The Coalition of Cultural Figures is appealing to the Kyiv City State Administration for clarification on the investigation of Andriy Bilous’s case, according to an official statement posted on Facebook.
“The Coalition of Cultural Figures appeals to Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Hanna Starostenko and Director of the Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration Serhiy Anzhyak to give public explanations on the following: what conclusions were reached by the independent commission that studied the situation in the theater for a month; on what grounds Andriy Bilous was reinstated as artistic director of the Young Theater,” the statement reads.
Representatives of the Coalition emphasize that the Director of the Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration Serhiy Anzhyak announced the news of Bilous’ reinstatement without proper communication of this decision.
Earlier, Anzhiyak explained that a decision of law enforcement agencies or a court order was required for the suspension. He emphasized that without a legal component, this suspension could be overturned in court, and urged the victims to contact the police.
In an anonymous video on YouTube, a girl who identified herself as a student at the Ivan Karpenko-Kary National University of Kyiv accused Bilous, a professor at the university and artistic director of the Young Theater, 48, of sexual harassment. After that, other students and actors who had studied at KNUTKiT began to speak about their experiences of harassment.
The university said it had launched an internal investigation. Bilous was suspended from teaching.
The Department of Culture of the Kyiv City State Administration received two appeals from the cast of the Young Theater regarding Bilous and, within its powers, launched an internal investigation into the circumstances.
The police opened a criminal investigation into the alleged misconduct of the Kyiv University lecturer.
Activists demanded that Bilous be removed from his position as artistic director of the theater.
The Kyiv City State Administration reported that Bilous would be suspended from his duties, and a commission would be set up to analyze the situation in the theater and take appropriate response measures if necessary.
What do you know about director Bilous?
Bilous, the director of the Young Theater and a lecturer at the Karpenko-Kary National University of Kyiv, was accused of sexual harassment and indecent messages to female students.
One of the first public accusations that attracted a lot of attention was published in an anonymous YouTube video. The author claimed that Bilous had sent her photos of other female students’ private parts and asked her to send the same. In addition, he asked her if she wanted to have sex with her classmates and invited her “for tea”.
The girl later revealed her name and said that she had published a video testifying against Bilous with the support of her husband.
Karpenko-Kary University reported that it had filed a complaint with the National Police so that law enforcement officers “check the information disseminated and provide a legal assessment of it.”
In addition, the legal service of the educational institution has launched an “immediate official inspection”. Valeriy Filipenko, a graduate of KNUTKiT, created an anonymous online form to collect testimonies from victims and witnesses.
Subsequently, accusations began to be made against another lecturer at Karpenko-Kary University and a lecturer at KNUKiM.
