Word: vlasova
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
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...
...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...
With uniformed police, plainclothesmen and Port Authority officials surrounding the plane, Donald McHenry, Deputy U.S. Ambassador at the U.N., and a team of State Department and Immigration and Naturalization officials sought permission to question Vlasova. Soviet U.N. Ambassador Yevgeni Makeyev refused to allow the beleaguered ballerina off the aircraft. But on two occasions, two State Department officials were permitted aboard the plane, where they talked with Vlasova. Dressed in a snappy black jumpsuit, the dancer said she indeed desired to return home. "I love my husband. But he has made his decision to stay here, while I have made mine...