For decades now, Russians have known the drill. When there’s bad news brewing, such as the death of a leader, or a convulsive event, such as the Chernobyl disaster, State TV switches its programming and begins airing Tchaikovsky’s ballet, “Swan Lake.” Nothing to see her folks. But also note the choice of distraction.

Ballet is centrally important to Russian society and to Russian image. Dancers slicing through the air and challenging laws of physics and gravity represent civility and grace. But, last February, when Russian military troops invaded Ukraine, Russian ballet troopes had their western tours cancelled and Moscow’s Bolshoi theater has shuttered shows by directors critical of Putin’s war. As we first reported last year, this brutal war plays out on the most delicate of fronts, leaving ballet in exile. 

When ballet dancers are described as God’s athletes, well, you could offer up Olga  Smirnova as supporting evidence. She treads on air, coming in on little cat feet. She’s a Russian prima ballerina one of the world’s leading dancers. But days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Smirnova pirouetted and stepped off her stage at the renowned Bolshoi Theater, with dramatic flourish. She took to social media to express her outrage. And then fled the country, the modern-day version of Nureyev or Baryshnikov defecting. Jon Wertheim: When you sat down to write that social media post, what did you want to communicate? What did you want to say? Olga Smirnova: I just couldn’t keep it inside. I was so ashamed of Russia. This is the true. I’m not ashamed that I’m Russian, but I’m ashamed because of Russia started this action. Jon Wertheim: I want to read what you wrote. You said you were against this war with every fiber of your being.

“But I now feel that a line has been drawn that separates the before and the after.” Olga Smirnova: It’s how I felt. 24th of February, this is, was the line, Because it’s all changed. All changed. The reputation of Russia and Russian people, even if you are not a soldier, you’re just Russian. It, it’s all, it still make a shadow on you. Jon Wertheim: Being Russian. Olga Smirnova: Being Russian. And it’s, it’s really painful. Predictably, Smirnova’s post went viral. She was, after all, a leading light at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet. From the Russian word for “big,” Bolshoi is the world’s largest ballet company and the most prestigious.

The theater is physically close to the Kremlin a short walk away and also aligned inextricably with the Russian government. Tsars loved the Bolshoi. For decades, Communist leaders used the Bolshoi theater for political stagecraft, holding rallies and giving national addresses there. Alexei Ratmansky: This is something that celebrates Russia. Every important guest who would visit Soviet Union would be invited to the Bolshoi, see the performance. And that was a pride of, of Russia at any time. American philanthropist Howard Buffett, son of Warren Buffett, watched the story when it was first broadcast last year. His foundation granted more than a million dollars to help support the exiled Ukrainian dancers.