Renowned Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov falls five storeys to his death

A dancer who criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been found dead after falling five storeys from an apartment.

A renowned Russian ballet dancer has been found dead in St. Petersburg in murky circumstances.

Vladimir Shklyarov, 39, plunged to his death from the fifth floor of a building in St. Petersburg and his body was discovered on Saturday.

Russian media reported he had been taking medication for a spinal injury and had been scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that initial investigations indicated his death was an accident and “not criminal in nature”.

Local media claimed he may have been leaping between two balconies when he fell to his death. The reports continued that he had been locked in the apartment by his ex-wife ballerina Maria Shirinkina — at his own request — to stop him from buying drugs, according to The Sun.

However, ballerina Irina Bartnovskaya disputed those claims and described his death as a tragic accident.

“Volodya (Vladimir) was resting up at home, on painkillers and preparing for an... operation,” she said, according to NBC News.

“He went out onto the balcony to get some air and smoke, lost his balance (it’s a very narrow balcony) and fell (from the fifth floor). It was a stupid unbearable accident.

“He loved life, his family, and adored his children and his audience.”

Ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov from the Mariinsky Ballet. Picture: AFP

Vladimir Shklyarov and Olesya Novikova perform Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London. Picture: Getty Images

Shklyarov’s name is the latest to be added to a growing list of celebrities and businessmen who have died in suspicious circumstances following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Wikipedia has a running tally of the deaths, which includes Gazprom director Leonid Shulman and Lukoil chairman Ravil Maganov.

Many of those who died were critical of Russia’s leadership or somehow fell afoul of Putin’s regime.

The phenomenon has been described as “sudden Russian death syndrome” and given the high number of people who have died after falling from windows, defenestration is suspected.

Some of the suspicious deaths were reported in European countries including Spain and England.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP

Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine, Shklyarov criticised Russia ordering troops into Ukraine in a now-deleted post on social media.

“It is impossible to watch everything that is happening today without tears,” he wrote.

Unlike other performers such as Olga Smirnova, a prima ballerina at Moscow’s Bolshoi who left the country in protest, Shklyarov stayed in Russia and continued performing with the Mariinsky under its pro-Kremlin leadership.

A funeral will be held for the dancer on Thursday, the Mariinsky Theatre announced.

Shklyarov was a star dancer at the Mariinsky, the historic opera and ballet venue in Russia’s imperial capital of Saint Petersburg.

“His loss is deeply felt by the entire Mariinsky family and the wider ballet world,” the Mariinsky said Monday in a statement, without commenting on the circumstances of his death.

Shklyarov had been a principal dancer with the theatre since 2011, “captivating audiences with his expressive artistry and technical brilliance,” it said.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at the theatre, followed by a church service and burial in central Saint Petersburg.

Shklyarov won several prestigious awards for his performances in classic ballets including The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Manon, and had regularly toured internationally.