Star Ballerina Olga Smirnova Quits Bolshoi Over Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

It almost seems as if we are once again in a time when Russian artists are fleeing the terrible regime in Russia and are hoping to join a company here in a country where human rights are protected.

AMRAH

PARIS, France – One of the stars of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, Olga Smirnova, has quit the company over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will instead dance for the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.

Smirnova, whose grandfather is Ukrainian, wrote on Telegram that she is ‘against war with all the fibers of my soul’.

‘I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia’, she wrote in the statement, which was later republished by the Dutch National Ballet. ‘I have always been proud of talented Russian people, of our culture and athletic achievements. But now I feel that a line has been drawn that separates the before and the after.

‘It hurts that people are dying, that people are losing the roofs over their heads or are forced to abandon their homes. And who would have though a few weeks ago that all of this would happen? We may not be at…

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