Word: godunov
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...beautiful performances of the Bolshoi at Lincoln Center, both far superior to the U.S. State Department's klutzy performance over Ballet Star Alexander Godunov's wife at Kennedy Airport [Sept. 3]. I doubt the Bolshoi will come back...
Whether Ballerina Ludmila Vlasova of the Bolshoi Ballet really wanted to go home or to defect with her husband, Dancer Alexander Godunov, may never be known in full. When Godunov, one of the most brilliant of Soviet ballet stars, made his rush to freedom, he did not-or could not-take her with him. Upholding U.S. law prohibiting forced repatriation, the State Department insisted on interviewing Vlasova to see if she wanted to join her husband. Belatedly, the State Department moved to keep her in the country by preventing her Aeroflot jetliner from taking off until, in the words...
News of the defection-the first in the Bolshoi's history-sent waves of shock and apprehension through the 125-member Moscow troupe, which included Godunov's wife, Ludmila Vlasova, a soloist with the company. At that point some ballet insiders reported that the couple were estranged and that Vlasova, 37, was unwilling to defect with her husband. Still, angry Soviet officials felt it necessary to hold Vlasova incommunicado at the hotel. Because the Bolshoi has long been groomed to be the showcase of Soviet culture, Godunov's flight was evidently viewed as even more...
...Godunov grew increasingly worried about his wife. Believing that she might also wish to remain in the U.S., he publicly pleaded with Soviet officials for a meeting with her. "I am certain that she is not being permitted to learn all the facts," he said. "I fear the Soviet authorities will force her to leave the U.S. without my seeing her again." To prevent that, Godunov retained Attorney Orville Schell, who informed the U.S. State Department of his client's belief that the Soviets would hustle her out of the country...
...days after Godunov's defection, a group of eight grim-visaged Soviet diplomats and police agents escorted Vlasova up the ramp of the Aeroflot jet. As the plane readied for takeoff, Port Authority police cars raced out onto the tarmac and slammed to a stop in front of the Soviet aircraft. Acting Secretary of State Warren Christopher had ordered the flight halted to determine whether Vlasova was leaving of her own accord...