The famous Ukrainian-Russian dancer Sergei Polounin, known for his resounding departure from the Royal Ballet in London and his tattoos bearing the image of Vladimir Putin, announced on Wednesday that he intended to leave Russia.
“Thank you for everything that Russia has done for me. The time comes when the soul does not feel where it should be,” he wrote on his Instagram account.
“My time in Russia has long ended, as if I had fulfilled my mission here for the moment,” he said in a long, nebulous message riddled with errors to his approximately 219,000 subscribers.
“Where we will go is not yet clear,” added Sergei Polounin. He had already published this message on his Telegram account on Sunday, but the information was not reported in the Russian press.
The 35-year-old dancer, who was born in southern Ukraine and has held Russian citizenship since 2018, did not clearly explain why he wanted to leave Russia.
Last summer, he claimed in online videos that he was being followed and feared for the “safety” of his family.
And he was replaced last week as head of the Sevastopol Opera and Ballet Theater, in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia, according to state agency Ria Novosti.
Nicknamed the “bad boy of ballet” for his passionate performances and controversial statements, he suddenly left the British Royal Ballet in 2012 after being promoted to principal dancer.
In recent years, he has been especially noted for his unwavering support for Vladimir Putin and the Russian offensive in Ukraine launched in February 2022.
He also welcomed Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, where he has since lived and worked.
Last August, Sergei Polounin again assured on Instagram that Russia was fighting “the Nazis” in Ukraine, repeating an argument used many times by the Kremlin to justify its attack.
In October 2023, the dancer paid tribute to Vladimir Putin on his birthday, calling him “the kindest and most talented” man. In his latest online publications, he always bore the face of the Russian president, on his chest and both shoulders.
