The tragic fate of Alexander Godunov: the scandalous escape from the USSR and the mysterious death of the famous dancer

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

23 years ago, on May 18, 1995 passed away ballet dancer and film actor Alexander Godunov … In August 1979, a scandal erupted: during a tour, a dancer of the Bolshoi Theater asked for political asylum in the United States. He stayed abroad while his wife returned to the USSR. The ballet dancer tried to realize himself in the profession, but he did not achieve such success as at home. At the age of 45, Alexander Godunov passed away under mysterious circumstances that still raise a lot of questions.

As a child, Alexander dreamed of becoming a military man like his father. But after the parents divorced and moved from Sakhalin to Riga, the mother, against his wishes, sent her son to a choreographic school. There he met Mikhail Baryshnikov, and both soon became the best dancers of all the students. After graduating from college, Alexander Godunov worked in the "Young Ballet" by Igor Moiseev, and from there he soon moved to the Bolshoi Theater.

In the 1970s. Godunov has performed solo and duet roles in a dozen or so performances of the theater's classical repertoire. Experts noted both his impeccable technique and expressive emotional richness of his performances. In 1976 he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. He danced in duets with Lyudmila Vlasova, who became his wife, and Maya Plisetskaya. The latter wrote about him like this: “He was powerful, proud, tall. A sheaf of straw hair, which made him look like a Scandinavian, blazed in the wind of Godunov's unique pirouette. He danced better than held his partner. The man was loyal, decent and, in spite of his courageous appearance, completely defenseless."

Despite his resounding professional success, for several years the dancer was restricted to travel abroad, even when he became a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater. Perhaps these measures were taken after his friend Mikhail Baryshnikov fled the USSR in 1974 without returning from a tour in Toronto. In addition, the artist often had problems in the theater due to his independent and wayward character. Plisetskaya recalled: “They wanted to cut him somehow, they said that one shouldn't dance with such patches. And here he insisted on his own: "No, there will be patly!"

He was not supposed to go on tour in the United States in 1979, but a few days before their start, the American impresario put forward an ultimatum: either the troupe arrives with Godunov, or the tour is canceled. And they still decided to release it. His disappearance was not immediately noticed. After the performance on August 19, the dancer had 3 days off, and even his wife did not suspect where he had disappeared - she thought that she had spent the night with friends. It soon became known that he had asked for political asylum in the United States. His wife was escorted to the airport, but the Americans did not allow the plane to take off. They were sure that Alexander “chose freedom”, and his wife was not given the opportunity to make a choice and was forcibly sent to the USSR. The negotiations lasted three days. All this time, Lyudmila, along with the rest of the passengers, remained on board the plane. But she confirmed her decision to return to her homeland - she did not want to leave her mother alone there.

The couple lived together for 7 years, and Godunov could not believe for a long time that Lyudmila had decided not to share his fate. Mikhail Baryshnikov gave him the opportunity to perform at his American Ballet Theater, but the dancer was able to enter the stage only six months later, when he recovered from the shock. In addition, he needed to retrain in order to switch from Russian classical ballet to modern American ballet, but he did not want to do this.

The dancer created his own troupe "Godunov and Friends" and successfully toured with it in different countries. He began an affair with actress Jacqueline Bisset, and she convinced him to quit ballet and try his hand at cinema. For 10 years, Godunov starred in 8 films, including "The Witness", "The Debt Pit" and "Die Hard". But the former ballet soloist was not satisfied with the secondary roles of the Russian villains. In addition, quite categorical judgments sounded about his departure from the ballet: "He sacrificed the greatness of his dance in the name of descent into Hollywood oblivion."

After 8 years, they parted with Jacqueline Bisset, and Godunov was left completely alone. Increasingly, he poured alcohol into his melancholy. The dancer stopped communicating with his compatriots and led a secluded life. In May 1995, his body was found in an apartment a few days after his death. No traces of violent death were found and it was concluded that it was due to "natural causes."

Not everyone believed this explanation. Suspicions were aroused by the strange behavior of Godunov's secretary and assistant, who was in too much haste with the funeral. Nevertheless, no one was proven to be involved in his death. Joseph Brodsky wrote in his obituary: "I believe that he did not take root and died of loneliness."

Alexandra Godunova and Lyudmila Vlasova called Romeo and Juliet of the Cold War, of which they became victims.