Tretyakov Gallery cancels screening of film about teenagers in Moscow’s Kitay-Gorod
The Tretyakov Gallery has canceled a screening of the documentary “My ne znakomimsya” (“We Don’t Meet New People”), about teenagers from alternative subcultures who gather in Moscow’s Kitay-Gorod neighborhood. Film critic Kirill Artamonov, who curates the gallery’s “Horizons of Everyday Life” film program, said the screening had been canceled.
The screening was scheduled for November 14. Artamonov said it was being postponed “indefinitely.”
The Telegram channel Kino v Tretyakovke, which covers the gallery’s film programming, reported that the screening had been postponed because of “increased strain on technical and facilities services” caused by a sellout crowd at the ‘Léon Bakst’ exhibition.
Directed by Yulia Guskova, “My ne znakomimsya” premiered at the Beat Film Festival in June 2026. The film follows 17-year-old Gleb, who “arrives in Kitay-Gorod and immediately joins a crowd of fellow ‘alternative kids’ with dyed hair, brand-name clothes, and tattoos.” “Together, they seek and find friends, fun, and a chance to discuss pressing concerns: dating and plans for adulthood,” the film’s description says.
On the evening of November 7, mass detentions took place near the Kitay-Gorod subway station, where young people from alternative subcultures have been gathering for a second consecutive year. Estimates of the number of people detained near Gorka Park, where the teenagers usually meet, range from 150 to 200.
Moscow’s young people and police
Moscow’s alternative teens have made a downtown nightlife district their weekend hangout. Drunken fights are driving customers away — and police are targeting the teenagers for how they dress.
Russian police detained hundreds of teenagers at a popular Moscow hangout. Meduza spoke to three teenagers caught in the raid.
Moscow police call a weekend sweep of hundreds of young people a ‘preventive measure.’ Detainees report beatings, military summonses, and pressure to sign army contracts.
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