The ballet troupe, closely associated with the Russian Federation, pretended to be a Ukrainian company during a tour in Sweden
At the end of December last year, the ballet troupe called “Ballet of Ukraine” held several performances of “The Nutcracker” in the cities of Sweden. However, as it turned out, this troupe has no relation to Ukraine, but instead is closely related to the Russian Federation. About this informs the Swedish publication SVT, whose journalists conducted a corresponding investigation.
According to the investigation, the “Ballet of Ukraine” troupe is not registered in the Ukrainian YouControl database, and its owner, whose name has not been disclosed, is not listed as an entrepreneur in Ukraine. It is known that he was educated in Lviv and Moscow, and worked both in Ukraine and in Russia. This person currently runs a ballet school in Germany and teaches at a Russian ballet company.
On the site, which has already been deleted, the troupe indicated a Kyiv address, but at this address is an office center and retail premises, not a ballet school. At the same time, “Ballet of Ukraine” used repertoire and advertising materials similar to those used by Russian ballet companies. Among the 14 artists listed on the troupe’s website, seven work in Russia.
The tour “Ballet of Ukraine” was organized by the Norwegian company Touring Actors. The owner of the company is a citizen of the Russian Federation, who is still registered as an entrepreneur in Russia, and therefore pays taxes to the budget of this country. In addition, the company’s website is hosted on a server in Russia.
“The number of ballet companies that claim to belong to Ukraine has become so large that it has become difficult to track them all. They are making money from our suffering.”, — explained the press secretary of the Kyiv National Opera, Lana Roxy.
After the investigation was made public, some Swedish venues where the troupe previously performed announced their intention to change their booking procedures.
