Ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov who criticised Putin’s Ukraine invasion dies in fall from building in St Petersburg

18 November 2024, 10:37 | Updated: 18 November 2024, 11:37

An acclaimed Russian ballet dancer has died in a fall from his residential block in St Petersburg.

Vladimir Shklyarov, 39, died after falling from the fifth floor of an apartment building on Saturday.

The fall was said to have been ‘accidental’.

Local reports suggest he was trying to escape from his apartment - after his ex-wife locked him in there at his request to stop him from buying drugs.

However other claims have emerged that this version of events reported locally is malicious and inaccurate.

Shklyarov was among the world's premier ballet dancers and had starred at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera House in London.

His body was found beneath his home on Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment in St Petersburg.

Ballerina Irina Bartnovskaya dismissed the suggestion he had been trying to escape his apartment.

She said he went out on his balcony to smoke and fell to his death in a “stupid, unbearable accident.”

She said: “He loved life, family, adored his children and his audience.”

His dance company, Mariinsky Theater said in a statement: “This is a huge loss not only for the theater’s staff, but for all of today’s ballet art.

“Our condolences to the artist’s family, loved ones, friends and all the numerous admirers of his work and talent.

“His boundless creative abilities were recognized with numerous awards.

“He forever inscribed his name in the history of world ballet art.”

Anna Kasatkina, a representative for the dance company, later told a local news outlet that he died in a fall while on painkillers in preparation for a complex spinal surgery scheduled for today.

An investigation into the circumstances of his death has been launched, though “the preliminary cause” has been listed as an accident, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

The American Ballet Theatre said in a statement on Sunday: "We mourn the tragic loss of Vladimir Shklyarov, an extraordinary artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide.

"Your light will continue to shine through the beauty you brought to this world."

In 2022 Shklyarov had issued a powerful critique of Putin's war in Ukraine.

He had posted: “Friends! I am against the war in Ukraine!

“I am for the people, for a peaceful sky above our heads.

“Politicians should be able to negotiate without shooting and killing civilians, for this they were given a tongue and a head.

“My grandfather, Anatoly Filimonovich, graduated from school in Ukraine with a gold medal, my great-grandmother Sonya lived her whole life in Kyiv.

“It is impossible to watch everything that is happening today without tears...

“I want to dance...I want to love everyone - that is the purpose of my life...

“I do not want wars or borders. Vladimir Shklyarov.”

Last week, a London-based Russian chef and Putin critic died mysteriously aged 52.

Alexei Zimin, who ran the Zima restaurant and media organisation in Soho, was found dead in Serbia, with no reason given for his death.

Relatives said he had not been ill. He leaves behind a wife and three young daughters.

Serbian media reported that he was found dead on the floor of a flat in Belgrade, the country's capital. The owner of the apartment discovered him after he coming round, with Mr Zimin having not answered the phone for several days.

An autopsy and toxicology report has been ordered.