Lithuania’s Interior Ministry has ordered Ilze Liepa to have her citizenship revoked. The move came after the Russian-Lithuanian ballerina praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Liepa, who has been a soloist ballerina at the Bolshoi Theatre since 1981, is a dual Russian-Lithuanian citizen. She criticised Western policies towards Moscow and Putin’s „service to the motherland.” The 59-year-old, who received Lithuanian citizenship in 2000, said during a Russian-language YouTube interview published last November that she was “ashamed” of Western policies.
The Interior Ministry has requested the State Security Department to initiate proceedings for stripping of her citizenship. The ministry also asked the Security Department to check 800 naturalised Lithuanians for threats to national security and support for Russia. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania governments, all EU and NATO members, have condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
