A Russian ballet dancer who was an outspoken critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine has mysteriously plunged to his death from the fifth floor of a building.
Vladimir Shklyarov, a married father of two, plummeted around 60 feet to the ground from a building on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, where the 39-year-old was the highest-ranking dancer, told Fontanka.
Russian authorities initially labeled the fall an accident, blaming the painkillers he was taking before a complex spinal surgery.
However, he joins numerous other critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin who have met untimely ends — including others who have fallen from buildings.
The dancer had lashed out on Facebook in 2022 despite the Kremlin’s crackdown on such criticism.
“Friends! I am against the war in Ukraine! I am for the people, for a peaceful sky above our heads,” wrote the dad, who was married to fellow ballet dancer Maria Shirinkina.
“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,” he continued.
“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,” he wrote.
In the past year, a member of Putin’s United Russia party mysteriously fell to his death from a third-floor window while the deputy editor of Putin’s favorite newspaper was unexpectedly found dead at 35 inside her apartment.
Two other notable Putin allies, Lukoil tycoon Ravil Maganov and Marina Yankina, also suspiciously fell to their deaths in recent years, though both were said to be suffering from heart problems.
Earlier this year, a journalist who took aim at Russian officials and promised to release details of “gigantic corruption” was also found dead on the side of the road.
An official cause of death for Shklyarov has not been shared.
Shklyarov was married to Maria Shirinkina, a fellow dancer at the Mariinsky Theater, and they had two young children.
Shklyarov’s career spanned over 20 years at the theater, where he first started in 2003 after graduating from the Academy of Russian Ballet. He rose to the role of principal dancer in 2011, and later was named an Honored Artist of Russia in 2020, the theater said.
The dancer starred in classical ballets including “Giselle,” “Le Corsaire,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker” and “Don Quixote,” among many others.
The American Ballet Theater mourned him as “an extraordinary artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide.
“Vladimir danced with American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist in 2014 and 2015, leaving an indelible mark on our stage and in our hearts,” the dancers said on Instagram. “Rest in peace, Vladimir. Your light will continue to shine through the beauty you brought to this world.”
