Prominent pro-Putin ballet star Sergei Polunin says he will leave Russia

Moscow – Former Royal Ballet star Sergei Polunin, famous for his tattoos of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced on Wednesday that he plans to leave Russia. The Ukrainian-Russian dancer was one of the most prominent stars supporting Russia unilateral annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its military attack on Ukraine. He was rewarded with prestigious state offices.

Waffled, misspelled Message on his Instagram In his report, Polunin wrote: “My time in Russia ended a long time ago, at this moment it seems that I have fulfilled my mission here.”

The post first appeared on his little-read Telegram account on Sunday.

Polunin, 35, did not give a specific reason for his departure but said: “Thank you for everything Russia has done for me. The time comes and the soul feels that it is not where it should be.”

He said he would leave with his family – his wife Yelena and his three children – but “where we will go is still unclear.”

During the summer, the dancer complained about a lack of security and said he was being followed.

Polunin, who was born in Ukraine, supported Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 – a prelude to the ongoing, large-scale invasion of Ukraine which Putin launched in February 2022.

The dancer was granted Russian citizenship in 2019. He was appointed acting head of a dance academy in Crimea’s occupied largest city, Sevastopol, and director of the city’s Opera and Ballet Theater, for which a major new building is currently being constructed.

Just last year he was honored by Putin for his role in popularizing the dance. But in August he was replaced as head of the dance academy by former Bolshoi primate Maria Alexandrova, and a week ago Russian arts minister Olga Lyubimova announced that his job as theater director would go to singer Ildar Abdrazakov.

This happened after Polunin on December 9 a Social media post He said he was “very sorry for the people” who lived in the heavily bombed village near the Ukrainian city of Kherson, “where a generation of Polunins grew up and my Russian grandfather built a small house with his own hands.”

He called on Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, saying even “the worst deal would be better than war.”

“I hope for the humanity of the President of Russia and whether there is an opportunity to have a normal professional conversation with Trump,” Polunin wrote at the time. “It is better to show willpower and good nature yourself and start negotiations.”

At the age of 13, Polunin received a scholarship to study at the Royal Ballet School in London and became their youngest solo dancer ever.

With his tattoos – including a large depiction of Putin’s face prominently displayed on his chest – and rebellious attitude, he became known as the “bad boy of ballet” and caused a stir when he quit the Royal Ballet at the height of his fame 2012.

He later directed a successful video for an Irish musician in 2015 Hozier’s song “Take Me to Church” and was the star of a 2016 documentary called “Dancer.”

He switched to the ballet of the Moscow Stanislavsky Music Theater before starting a solo career and appearing in dance performances, including roles of the mystic Grigory Rasputin.

In 2019, he posed for AFP with a large tattoo of Putin on his chest, which he later complemented with two Putin faces on both shoulders. He also carries a large Ukrainian trident on his right hand.

This year he took part Putin’s election campaign as a prominent supporter.