Igor Zelensky

Zelensky was born on 13 July 1969, in Labinsk, Krasnodar Krai, Russian SFSR.

He has performed around the world, including with the Royal Ballet in London, at La Scala in Milan, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and with the New York City Ballet.

From 2016 to 2022, he was the Ballet Director of the Bayerisches Staatsballett;[1][2] he resigned on 4 April 2022 due to "private family reasons" after failing to denounce the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was summoned by the German Science and Arts Ministry to explain his links to a cultural heritage foundation tied with the Russian state.

Serge Dorny, the general director of Bavarian State Opera, had inadvertently told Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus that Zelensky "didn't make that decision on his own", and said, "We had a conversation, and I brought him to this conclusion.

"[3][4][5] Zelensky is reportedly the partner of Katerina Tikhonova, the second daughter of Russian president Vladimir Putin.