Ballerina Ilze Liepa was deprived of Lithuanian citizenship. The decree was signed by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, reports UNN with reference to Delfi.
According to the publication, the reason was a public expression of support for Russia, as well as an interview with the ballerina, in which she "does not hide her sympathies for Vladimir Putin, calls the war in Ukraine a special operation and openly despises Western peace and values.
Lithuanian citizenship was granted to a ballet dancer with Russian citizenship as an exception.
In November last year, the Lithuanian Interior Ministry instructed the Migration Department to begin the procedure for depriving Russian ballerina Ilze Liepa of Lithuanian citizenship.
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Along with Liepa, Lithuanian citizenship was also revoked from businessman Yuri Kudimov, who "carried out activities incompatible with the interests of Lithuania's national security". According to the Lithuanian Department of State Security, Kudimov was granted citizenship in 1998 by concealing the fact that he was an intelligence officer of the USSR KGB.
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Ilze Liepa is the daughter of the Soviet ballet dancer Maris Liepa, one of the most famous representatives of Latvia. In 2000, she was granted Lithuanian citizenship as an exception, as she had been dancing with Lithuanian artist Petras Skirmantas for more than 10 years.