Zelensky deprived the world-famous ballet dancer of Ukrainian citizenship

Vladimir Zelensky has deprived ballet dancer Sergei Polunin of Ukrainian citizenship. This was announced on the air of the United News telethon.

"The President signed the relevant decree," the message says.

Together with Polunin, Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov and former People's Deputy of Ukraine Oleg Tsarev lost their citizenship of Ukraine.

Earlier, Zelensky wrote in his telegram channel that he had prepared appropriate decisions on persons who had confirmed the presence of Russian citizenship.

Polunin was born in Kherson in 1989. At the age of eight he got into the Kherson dance school "Juventa". A year later, at the age of nine, he entered the Kiev Choreographic School. In 2003, at the age of thirteen, with the support of the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, he moved to London to study at the Royal Ballet School. After completing his studies at the age of 17, he was accepted into the troupe of the London Royal Ballet. Two years later, at the age of 19, he became the youngest premiere in the history of the troupe. In January 2012, Polunin unexpectedly left the Royal Ballet and London. He stated that "because of the too harsh atmosphere in the theater, the artist dies in it." Polunin left for Russia, where in the summer of 2012, at the invitation of the artistic director of the ballet troupes of two Russian theaters, Igor Zelensky, he became the premiere of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Musical Theater and at the same time a permanent guest soloist of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. In 2018, Polunin received Russian citizenship.

Since 2019, he has been the head of the Sevastopol Academy of Choreography. Since December 2019, Polunin has been the director of the Sevastopol Opera and Ballet Theater under construction. In 2024, he married Olympic figure skating champion Elena Ilyinykh.

At the same time, in December 2024, Polunin announced his departure from Russia.