The President of Lithuania revoked the citizenship of the ballerina Ilse Liepa

The President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda has revoked the citizenship of the country to the ballerina Ilse Liepa, who lives in Russia, and to the businessman, former employee of the KGB of the USSR, Yuriy Kudymov, Delfi reported on Thursday.

The publication writes that questions to Liepa arose after the appearance of an interview in which she does not hide her sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls the war in Ukraine, like the Russian authorities, a “special operation” and “openly despises Western peace and values.”

Ilse Liepa, as noted by RBC, repeatedly gave interviews to Russian mass media in which she condemned the Baltic countries and expressed support for Russia. On February 4, in an interview with RIA Novosti, she said that the oppression of the Russian population in the Baltic countries (especially in Lithuania and Latvia) is inhumane. In November 2022, the ballerina gave an interview to the YouTube channel “Empathy Manuchi”, where she spoke positively about the Russian army.

Liepa will be stripped of his citizenship under the law, which allows the decision to issue a passport to be revoked if it was obtained by way of exception. The Seimas of Latvia adopted the relevant amendments at the end of March 2023. According to the law, citizenship can be revoked not only if a person’s actions threaten the interests of national security, but also if he publicly expresses support for a state that poses a threat to Lithuania and its allies.

Liepa’s press secretary refused to comment, RBC informs.

Ilze Liepa – the daughter of the Soviet and Latvian ballet dancer Maris Liepa – received Lithuanian citizenship by way of exception in 2000. Then it was announced that the soloist of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater received citizenship for having danced with the Lithuanian ballet dancer Pietras Skirmantas for more than ten years.

The Lithuanian authorities justified the decision to leave Yury Kudymov’s citizenship on the grounds that he was “carrying out activities incompatible with the interests of Lithuania’s national security.” According to intelligence, the businessman still maintains relations with influential people in Russia and participated in the activities of companies controlled by the Kremlin.