MOSCOW — Sergei Polunin, the former Royal Ballet star famous for his tattoo of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced Wednesday his plans to leave Russia. Ukrainian-Russian dancer was one of the most prominent stars who supported Russia Unilateral annexation of Crimea in 2014 and a military attack on Ukraine. He was given a prestigious national post.
“My time in Russia ran out a long time ago. At this moment, I seem to have fulfilled my mission here,” Polunin wrote in a rambling, misspelled message on his Instagram account. .
The post first appeared on his little-read Telegram account on Sunday.
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Polunin, 35, did not give a specific reason for his resignation, but said: “I am grateful for everything Russia has done for me.The time has come and my soul has decided that this is not the place it should be.” I feel it,” he said.
He said he plans to leave with his wife, Elena, and family, including their three children, but “it is not clear at the moment where we are going.”
In the summer, dancers complained of inadequate security and said they were being followed.
Polunin, who was born in Ukraine, supported President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. This is a precursor to the ongoing annexation of Crimea. Full-scale invasion of Ukraine President Putin activated it in February 2022.
The dancer obtained Russian citizenship in 2019. He has been appointed acting principal of the dance academy in Sevastopol, the largest city in occupied Crimea, and director of the city’s opera and ballet theater, where a large new building is under construction.
Just last year, he was awarded a medal by President Putin for his contribution to popularizing dance. However, in August, former Bolshoi Prima Maria Alexandrova took over the directorship of the dance academy, and a week ago, Russian Minister of Arts Olga Lyubimova replaced her theater director position with singer Ildar Abdrazakov. announced that it would be transferred to Mr.
This came after Polunin posted on social media on December 9 that he was “very sorry to the people” living in a heavily bombed village near the Ukrainian city of Kherson. “There, Polunin’s generation grew up, and his Russian grandfather built a small village.” Build a house with your own hands. ”
He urged President Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, saying, “Even the worst possible agreement would be better than war.”
“I look forward to the humanity of the Russian president and the possibility of having a normal, professional conversation with President Trump,” Polunin wrote at the time. “It’s better to start negotiations by showing your strength of will and goodness.”
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At the age of 13, Polunin won a scholarship to train at the Royal Ballet School in London, becoming the youngest principal dancer in history.
A large tattoo of Putin’s face on his chest and his rebellious attitude led to him becoming known as the ‘bad boy of ballet’, causing a sensation when he resigned from the Royal Ballet at the height of his fame. Ta. 2012.
He then created a 2015 hit video for Irish musicians. Hozier’s song “Take Me to Church” In 2016, she starred in a documentary called “Dancer”.
He began appearing in the ballet company of the Stanislavsky Music Theater in Moscow, and then began a solo career, starring in dance performances in roles such as the mysterious Grigory Rasputin.
In 2019, he posed for AFP with a large tattoo of Putin on his chest, and later added two of Putin’s faces on each shoulder. He also carries a large Ukrainian trident in his right hand.
This year he participated in President Putin’s re-election campaign As a celebrity patron.
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