Russian language, signs and books: the "Masks" theatre in Odesa was issued four protocols at once

Four administrative protocols were drawn up at the establishment at once

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19 Jun 2026

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The Odesa theatre “Masks” has again found itself at the center of a scandal over the use of the Russian language. Following an inspection, the representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language filed as many as 4 administrative protocols against the institution.

This was reported on 18 June 2026 by the publication “Odesa Life”.

The inspection was prompted by complaints from 3 theatre visitors. To one of the complaints, the complainants attached a video recording in which a staff member of the institution spoke to visitors in Russian.

During the inspection, the representative of the language ombudsperson recorded several types of possible violations. These included Russian-language service of visitors, signs and information plaques in Russian, as well as Russian-language posts and audio materials on the theatre’s social media.

At the same time, drawing up administrative protocols does not yet mean that the theatre has already received 4 separate fines. The protocols document the detected violations, after which a decision on liability must be made.

This is not the first time the theatre “Masks” has been held accountable for non-compliance with language legislation.

In March 2026 the institution was fined 17 thousand hryvnias. At that time, the complaints concerned the Russian language on posters, signs and in the theatre’s official online presence.

The theatre director Borys Barsky, commenting on the ticket seller speaking Russian, explained that the elderly employee had suffered a stroke at work. According to him, some visitors allegedly intentionally provoke the woman, but the theatre director does not intend to dismiss her.

“She is an elderly woman for whom the theatre is her whole life. People deliberately provoke her. We will speak with her, but we will not fire her”.

According to Borys Barsky, after the inspection the theatre has already replaced some of the Russian-language signs, strengthened the use of Ukrainian and updated internal navigation.

The head of the institution explained that some plaques remained in Russian due to staff inattention, who had grown accustomed to them and stopped noticing the problem. In particular, it concerned the inscriptions indicating row numbers on doors.

Another remark concerned the sale of printed products. During the inspection it turned out that the theatre only offered books in Russian.

At the same time, the legislation stipulates that at least 50% of the book products offered for sale must be in the state language.

The theatre was selling 5 of its own publications. Of them 4 books were written by Borys Barsky: “Game of Hopscotch”, “Isms”, “Black Kitties” and the children’s book “Pretend”. The fifth publication was a book by Sasha Postalenko.

Commenting on the absence of Ukrainian-language publications, Borys Barsky said that the theatre will buy Ukrainian books and place them next to its own products.

“We sell five of our own books. Four were written by me — “Game of Hopscotch”, “Isms”, “Black Kitties”, the children’s “Pretend” — and the book by Sasha Postalenko. Well, then we’ll buy Ukrainian books from the store — after all, 50% must be Ukrainian. We’ll put them next to ours — they will sell”.

Separately, the head of the theatre commented on the complaints about performances in which actors perform in Russian.

Borys Barsky noted that “Masks” is not a state enterprise, and the performances are accompanied by a running line with translation into Ukrainian. On this basis, he believes that during performances the theatre does not violate the requirements of the legislation.

The institution assured that the remaining remarks received from the representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language have already been addressed.

At the same time, the repeat detection of violations after the 17 thousand hryvnias fine indicates that some changes in the theatre took place only after new complaints and an inspection. In the conditions of the full-scale war that Russia is waging against Ukraine, compliance with the language law in the public sphere is not a matter of personal preference, but a mandatory requirement for establishments that work with visitors.