Yuri Vladimirov
Yuri Kuzmich Vladimirov (1 January 1942 – 19 May 2025) was a Russian Bolshoi Ballet dancer and one of the company’s leading soloists. Born in Kosteryovo, Vladimir Oblast, he trained at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography under Aleksey Yermolayev and joined the Bolshoi soon after graduation. He was married to fellow Bolshoi dancer Nina Sorokina. Known as the Bolshoi's “wild card” for his daring leaps and his ability to portray complex characters, he performed many leading roles and earned international prizes.
His repertoire included Sergei Slonimsky's Icarus, Khachaturian's Spartacus (the title role), the Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty, the Prince in The Nutcracker, and Don Quixote. In 1965 he and Sorokina starred in a new production of Le Sacre du printemps. In 1975 Grigorovich created for him the title role of Ivan the Terrible, set to Prokofiev’s music, a performance that toured the world and was filmed. He also appeared in Anna Karenina (Station Man) and Love for Love (as Benedict), and later roles such as Hussar Ballad’s Rzhevsky.
Vladimirov won prizes at Varna (1966) and Paris (1969) and shared a top prize for best ballet pair with Sorokina at Paris. He was named Merited Artist of the RSFSR (1970) and People’s Artist of the USSR (1975), and received the Order of Honour (1976). He remained with the Bolshoi as a dancer until 1987, then served as a master rehearser from 1987 to 2025. His pupils included Dmitry Gudanov, Ivan Vasilyev, and Sergei Dorensky. He died on 19 May 2025 at age 83, on the same day as his collaborator Yury Grigorovich; his wife Nina Sorokina had died in 2011.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:47 (CET).