Olga Smirnova

Olga Smirnova said she was against the war in Ukraine “with all the fibers of my soul.” Now, she has joined the Dutch National Ballet.

Ms. Smirnova has been a star at the Bolshoi almost since she joined the company in 2011, making her departure all the more notable. Since the Soviet Union ended, she said, “dancers left the Bolshoi to find new abilities and better positions” but Ms. Smirnova, who had it all, departed because she “prefers to express her opinion.” Ms. Smirnova published a lengthy post this month to Telegram, the messaging app popular in Russia, in which she said she opposed the war “with all the fibers of my soul.” One of her grandfathers was Ukrainian, she said, but insisted that was not the sole reason for her opposition. There have been other upheavals at the Bolshoi because of the war. The Kremlin has clamped down fiercely on free speech, and earlier this month, Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, passed a law making it illegal to spread “false information” about the war, punishable with up to 15 years in prison. “It’s just that the current circumstances accelerated this process.”

Smirnova, who previously expressed her opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will join the Dutch National Ballet.

“But now I feel that a line has been drawn.” Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova, a critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has quit the Bolshoi Ballet company in Moscow and will join the Dutch National Ballet, the Dutch organisation has said. Smirnova, who previously expressed her opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will join the Dutch National Ballet.

Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova leaves the Bolshoi for the Dutch National Ballet after denouncing war in Ukraine.

She'll make her debut with the Dutch National Ballet in its production of Raymonda in early April. Given the popularity of dance in Russia and ballet's deep ties with the country, the decision of these dancers is likely to make an impact. This includes Brazilian soloist David Motta Soares and Italian principal dancer Jacopo Tissi. Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who grew up in Ukraine, canceled a premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre after the invasion. One such institution is the New York Metropolitan Opera, which was set to stage a co-production with the Bolshoi next year. And who would have thought a few weeks ago that all of this would happen? I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia, I have always been proud of talented Russian people, of our cultural and athletic achievements.