MOSCOW, March 17, Pavel Surkov. Rudolf Nureyev's Leap to Freedom was a worldwide sensation. However, France was in no hurry to provide asylum to the ballet star, and he himself yearned for his homeland. In Moscow and other cities of Russia these days are «Nureyev seasons». The choreographer and conductor would have turned 85 on March 17.
«Traitor of the Motherland»: escape from the USSR to Europe
On June 16, 1961, the troupe of the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater — the main ballet company of Leningrad — was on tour in Paris. Among the artists who arrived to conquer the French capital was the world-famous dancer Rudolf Nureyev.
The all-powerful KGB did not want to include him in the tour troupe, but the host party insisted that he come. 
Nureyev in Paris walked the streets in the company of French colleagues and somehow suspiciously studied the capital of a capitalist country. The authorities ordered him to be removed from the tour and returned to the Soviet Union.
Nureyev refused to return, moreover, he asked for political asylum.
The French press dubbed it «the leap to freedom». Well, at home, Nureyev's act was regarded as a betrayal. There was a big scandal: for the first time, a Soviet artist of this level decided to stay abroad.
This meant a complete and final break. Nureyev became, perhaps, the most famous «defector» in the history of the USSR.
French refusal: wandering in Europe
His life abroad was not so cloudless: France refused political asylum, he had to go to Denmark, then to Great Britain, then to Austria. Nureyev was no stranger to moving: artists generally constantly tour.
He worked tirelessly: not only performed, but also staged performances himself, even acted in films. The title role in the film «Valentino» is the most successful.
Nureyev showed a great sense of humor: for example, in the famous «Muppet Show» by Jim Henson, along with a pig doll, Miss Piggy performed a duet from «Swan Lake» .
When he was invited to head the Parisian Grand Opera in the 1980s, he began to do everything his own way.
I actively promoted the young, gave them the main roles. This, of course, outraged the venerable stars, of which there were more than enough in the troupe.
But Nureyev immediately declared that he did not intend to focus on any hierarchy of soloists. He distributed the roles based primarily on the talent of the artist. » data-crop-width=»600″ data-crop-height=»395″ data-source-sid=»rian_photo» class=»lazyload» width=»1920″ height=»1263″ decoding=»async» />
Sickening for home: returning to Ufa in 1985
Nureyev tried to contact the relatives who remained in the Union, primarily with his mother. Once he even asked one of the high-ranking persons to include Ufa, where his mother lived, in the program of an official visit to the USSR in order to convey a letter. And he succeeded.
The government of the USSR allowed the dancer to come to the country in 1985 for only three days. The occasion was tragic: the mother was dying. She did not even recognize her son, who had been sitting next to her these days. Nureyev did not meet with any of his former friends and colleagues: they were forbidden to do so.
The only woman who, in addition to his mother, was dear to him — the ballerina Margot Fontaine — died of cancer. Nureyev paid her medical bills to the last and was constantly nearby, complaining that he did not marry her. Maybe then, he said, «the life of both of us would have been more successful.»
The fading of a star: HIV killed Nureyev
At that moment, Nureyev himself was already on the verge of life and death: in 1983 he found out that he was HIV-infected.
The artist weakened every year, could not dance and even put on performances. But he continued to work anyway — he learned to conduct, manage the orchestra. He couldn't imagine his life without music. crop-width=»600″ data-crop-height=»400″ data-source-sid=»rian_photo» class=»lazyload» width=»1920″ height=»1281″ decoding=»async» />
Rudolf Nureyev died in 1993 and found his last resting place in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery, where many Russian emigrants are buried.