The Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs has instructed the immigration service to start the process of depriving ballerina Ilze Liepa of Lithuanian citizenship, the agency reported. Baltic News Service.
“It is considered that Ilze Liepa’s public statements have damaged the reputation of the state,” the ministry said in a statement. We are talking about the ballerina’s statements in support of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin.
The Lithuanian Immigration Service contacted the competent authorities with a request to consider Liepa’s words. If his actions are deemed a threat to Lithuania’s national security, the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs will send a request to President Gitanas Nausėda to strip him of his citizenship.
Ilze Liepa is the daughter of Soviet ballerina Maris Liepa of Latvian origin, she was a soloist of the Bolshoi Theater ballet from 1981 to 2016, in 2002 she was awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia.
Liepa received Lithuanian citizenship “exceptionally” in 2000. In accordance with Lithuanian legislation, Citizenship can be revoked if the holder’s actions threaten the security of the country or you publicly support a state that threatens the security of Lithuania and its allies.
What Liepa said
In 2022 Liepa gave: report YouTube channel “Empathy Manuchi”, where he expressed his support for the military operation in Ukraine.
“I have no doubt about what our president is talking about, and although they say from the other side that we are deceived and the Kremlin is clouding our minds, this is everyone’s business and everyone’s choice.
“It seems to me that now we are finally doing everything perfectly and clearly, understanding that this is a confrontation between our meanings, our deepest values,” he said.
Liepa called Ukraine a “bargaining chip” He expressed regret for what happened, as he truly loved “this area” and had performed there several times. According to the ballerina, she “does not feel any joy from misfortunes”, but Russia “has no choice.”
Do not comment Demolition of monuments in the Baltic countriesHe said he was “very ashamed and very sorry” for these countries. He stated that people in the Baltic states were “held hostage by a small group of people.” At the same time, Russians, in his opinion, are “extremely lucky to have a leader like Vladimir Putin.”
He explained that he did not leave the country because he was “a patriot, a Russian, an Orthodox Russian” and that “no matter what he went through, he would stand by his country.”
Here some artists leaving he described it as a “cleansing” that would allow the Russians to “close ranks”.
Also in an interview, the ballerina said: Censorship in Russia and the need to introduce ideology. According to the artist, “all the great achievements” in Russian culture occurred in a period when censorship restrictions were in place. He added that “tragedies happen when films by great directors are found on the shelves,” but called such situations “extreme” and emphasized that in those days there was “no such obscenity” as there is now.
“Without the criteria of ideology – what is the direction of our state, what are our values that we support and what we do not promote – it seems to me that without this this is simply impossible,” Liepa expressed his position.
This isn’t the first time this has happened
On September 15, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree depriving Russian figure skater Margarita Drobyazko of citizenship. Like Liepa, she received a Lithuanian passport “as an exception” in 1993.
He was the reason why the athlete’s citizenship was revoked Participation in the show of Olympic champion Tatyana Navka, wife of Russian President Dmitry Peskov’s press secretary. Lithuanian officials viewed Drobyazko’s cooperation with Navka as the work of the Russian state.
The skater himself criticized the decision of the Lithuanian authorities. He stated that if he was offered to “give up his family, his country, which has been his homeland since childhood” in order to preserve his citizenship, this was “not his way”.
In total, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, citizenship was obtained “exceptionally” 800 Russians. The agency plans to contact the Ministry of State Security with a request for comprehensive control of these people.
Since the beginning of the military operation in Ukraine in July 2023, Lithuania’s deprived residence permit 135 RussiansThe country’s authorities considered them a security threat.
Source: Gazeta
Brandon Hall is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a cultural aficionado who writes about the latest news and developments in the world of art, literature, music, and more. With a passion for the arts and a deep understanding of cultural trends, Brandon provides engaging and thought-provoking articles that keep his readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the cultural world.