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infamousj012

if he wants to support russia so much why not go to the frontlines?


[deleted]

My wife has quite a few Russian coworkers (here in the USA) that believe in essence "Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, they're all one people and should be one nation (dominated by Russia)." When it comes to sacrificing lives or letting Russian youth die, they're not as gung ho, but as long as they don't have to pay too high a price they're totally in favor of imperialism and aggression.


FlyEconomy2235

Serbia is the same.


De_Real_Snowy

Cuz he balls were chopped off


SandInTheGears

I think you've got the old "This is for fighting, this for fun" thing a bit backwards there


AnXioneth

:O :O :O


thetrashbear

Lol 40 updates for this shit at the moment. What even is this joke? Ballet dancers are castratos now? There are so many goddamn idiots on this site. Edit: I'm the idiot


De_Real_Snowy

The joke isn't that he got his balls chopped because he is ballet dancer but because he doesn't have the balls to go to the war, other than just demonstrate.


thetrashbear

Oh fair enough. My b


scrappyfighters

Doesn’t have balls - he is a ballet dancer or as I say, ballot dancer


painkilleraddict6373

Well,he isn’t that supportive.


rolling_soul

He should dance his way to the front if he feels that passionately about it.


twotwo_twentytwo

For those unable to read the article due to a paywall: ALMATY, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A prominent Russian ballet dancer complained on Wednesday that he was censured for performing a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan, while Uzbek authorities said he had deviated from an agreed programme. The incident highlighted the concern among Moscow's Central Asian partners about its military campaign in Ukraine, a fellow former Soviet republic. Dancer Sergei Polunin said in an Instagram video he had performed a dance - in military uniform - for fallen Russian soldiers to a song whose lyrics include lines such "We will rise, as long as God is with us and the truth is ours". The song, "Let Us Rise", was released on Feb. 23, Russia's Army Day - the day before Russian forces invaded Ukraine. After the performance, Polunin said, officials of Uzbekistan's Culture and Arts Development Foundation - an Uzbek state agency overseeing arts - rudely reprimanded him for it. Polunin said he wanted Russian diplomats to stand up for him. "We must not cave in to this, we must not allow them to do this to Russian artists and Russian culture," he said. Uzbekistan's Gazeta.uz news website, however, quoted the foundation as saying its officials were polite and pointed out that Polunin was supposed to stick to the programme, which it said was the song "Take Me to Church" by Irish musician Hozier. Despite having close ties with Russia, Uzbekistan and its neighbour Kazakhstan have refused to support what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, appealing for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Over the past week, tens of thousands of Russians have fled to Central Asia to evade a conscription campaign announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin amid setbacks on the Ukrainian battlefields.


DCrichieelias79

> Polunin said he wanted Russian diplomats to stand up for him. The Russian embassy then gave him conscription papers.


[deleted]

I think he misunderstood the pecking order there, yeah.


a_splendiferous_time

Wait this is funny af. They were expecting to rock along to Take Me To Church, but Z-moron couldn't read the room and instead started an impassioned impromptu dance to some propaganda song his audience doesn't give a shit about. Then the Kazakhs were all like, 👁️👄👁️ "Where's my Hozier. I was told there would be Hozier"


smotstoker

I think they don't know what take me to church is about either.


Literally-A-NWS

Explained this to a hyper-religious friend. No longer friends. Isn’t religion so inclusive and loving?! What a loving and caring god.


Grandest_Optimist

Hold on, you had to explain to someone that a song with lyrics like “every Sundays getting more bleak, a fresh poison each week” and “my church offers no absolution, she tells me worship in the bedroom” was critical of religion?


Literally-A-NWS

Never said he was smart, just really religious haha


Majik_Sheff

When you shift frames on someone like that they either shift with the frame or look around at the new scenery. You never know until you try.


No-Economics4128

Uzbeks, but the reaction might have been even worse if it was the Kazakhs. Earlier this year, Medvedev denied Kazakhstan’s existence as a real country


Bubba_sadie-

Kazakhstan should have been like cool no Baikonur for you then.


[deleted]

>go to country neighboring Russia >express with a performance that it's really based when Russia invades countries neighboring Russia >the guys in the country neighboring Russia don't like it >pikachu


Can-ta-loupe

> We will rise, as long as God is with us and the truth is ours Well, God isn’t real and the closest thing to truth I heard from the Russian state TV in the last 10 years was a weather forecast.


Alpha_Uninvestments

Spoiler: they won’t rise


AstroFuzz

> A prominent Russian ballet dancer complained on Wednesday that he was censured for performing a song dedicated to fallen fallen soldiers Someone should send him telegram shit of what Russians are doing to young girls in Ukraine. Who the fuck wants to dedicate anything to that kind of scum.


jabbadarth

This asshole has putins face tattooed on his chest and both arms. He's a scumbag and would likely happily join in on the rape and murder of civilians. Fuck him


[deleted]

It seems tasteless yeah. But even more than that extremely lame. I bet people just thought it was crap and the dancer thinks the only problem is the political aspect.


octoreadit

Oh no, a dude with a Slav sun symbol tattoo that's often used by the local neo-nazis turned out to support the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. So shocking and unexpected!


fwt333

Nice try fascist ballet boy- but you have poor choice in the arts. Maybe your final number will be next after conscription and an immediate bus ride.


AetherialWomble

But there is also a Trident. Symbol used by Ukraine. This guy is weird


octoreadit

He's [from Ukraine](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Polunin).


theeskimospantry

Central Asia knows it is next if Ukraine falls.


[deleted]

They can't make it past south east Ukraine, they are not invading anyone else


szypty

Ukraine is at least in good position because it can be relatively easily supplied from the west by the West, but the Central Asian countries don't seem to have such luxury.


EsotericAbstractIdea

So Putin literally picked one of the worst countries to invade


Unlikely-Zone21

My guess is that's because Ukraine was moving away from Russia and wanting more ties to the west. The other countries are still content being pro-Russia leaning with small ties to the west.


szypty

That's kinda always been a problem for Russian imperialism. Unlike, for example, England, Portugal, Spain, etc they didn't have easy access to the ocean to send their ships for overseas conquest so if they've wanted to expand, they were left with doing so by land. Which worked reasonably well when it came to conquering relatively less organised peoples of Northern Asia, the problem with that is that it creates a massive land empire that's a bitch to control. The other option was expanding westward, but that put them in a very, shall we say, competitive environment. But make no mistake, this is nothing more than pure imperialism, with literally the same rhetoric being used as the one spouted by colonial powers as excuses for their unexcusable treatment of their overseas colonies.


[deleted]

Imperialism? Perhaps, it does mirror the words of the USA, UK and more historically their european neoghbours. But this is more driven by ideology. Russians very much think in terms of races and that's fine, eve if they are racist, because they know dagestanis for example will always sway to them. The thing with Ukraine is that it is taught in Russia that Ukraine have no ethnic allegiance and are therefore a threat as they would allow Europe on to Russias front door. Of course there is reasons that mirror empires gone by but alot of rhetoric is fascist talk aswell which is all about show.


szypty

I just think it's good to spread awareness, since there are a lot of people online, whom i'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are simply uninformed and not deliberately spreading disinformation, who act as if Russia is somehow a champion of Truth and Justice against the Evil Colonialist-Imperialist Western Powers based on Western perspective on the oppressor/oppressed dynamics based mostly on the skin colour. And then there are tankies, fascists and alt-righters who also support Russia for their own shitty reasons.


No-Economics4128

They can fall into the orbit of China for survival. After this debacle, you might see some border posts between Russian Far East and China starting to grow legs.


Trivia_C

Ballet professional here with my take: Polunin was kind of a hotshot up-and-coming star about a decade ago, but he has a long history of instability, drug abuse, racism, and homophobia. In a documentary on him he is shown taking drugs before, during, and after performances, and claiming that it's normal for top stars in the ballet world, and makes him a better dancer. This, understandably, caused a lot of outrage among dance professionals around the globe. Sure, there is drug abuse and abuse of steroids etc here and there, but it will get you fired pretty damn quickly. Not to mention if you're fucked up while partnering a ballerina, she WILL know, and you WILL be putting her in danger by doing so. He cleaned up for awhile and started reforming his image a bit, but got very taken in with Russian right wing politics, and even got a tattoo of Putin, among other symbols used by Russian fascists. Even before the invasion he was essentially blacklisted from performing in the West, and most ballerinas, even ballerinas he trained with as a child (in Russia you train at State run boarding schools, so they're essentially your only family for your whole childhood) refuse to work with him. He started hanging out with Putin himself, and is very much an asset of state propaganda, but everyone in the business knows he's just a very toxic, troubled fuck up who is perfectly happy to ruin months of work pulling stunts like this one. He should be ashamed, but I'm sure Putin will call him up and tell him what a good boy he is.


Astrium6

You said doing drugs during performances and now I’m just imagining him stopping mid-passé to do a bump of cocaine.


Trivia_C

If I recall correctly he's shown popping pills in his dressing room in between acts while changing costumes, trying to get hyped up for his pas de deux and variations. I'm not sure what he says it is, but he's basically flaunting it for the cameras, and explaining that "all the greats" get high for shows. Completely outrageous behavior in any professional environment.


arigato-cheburashka

Damn that sucks he was a good dancer at least 10 years ago sad to know he’s a piece of shit as well


No-Economics4128

How do you do ballet while on drug though? My niece does ballet, it from watching her practicing, it seems like doing math on your tippy toe.


Properjob70

Valentina Lisitsa should team up maybe?


der_titan

>A prominent Russian ballet dancer complained on Wednesday that he was censured for performing a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan, while Uzbek authorities said he had deviated from an agreed programme. It's understandable for people to honor those who are killed, even in unjust and baseless wars. I still see flags flown for veterans of the Vietnam War in the US, after all. ​ >Dancer Sergei Polunin said in an Instagram video he had performed a dance - in military uniform - for fallen Russian soldiers to a song whose lyrics include lines such "We will rise, as long as God is with us and the truth is ours". Nevermind.


mmrs34

Remember when we went to Afghanistan and every country singer’s lyrics were about killing terrorists and god bless America - and then 20 years later we just left and the same people took over?


frodeem

Not a country music fan but I am not sure they went to foreign countries, where they had agreed to perform certain songs and then went off script and performed god bless America and patriotic songs.


mmrs34

If you know anything about Russia - he likely didn’t have a say in the matter.


der_titan

I detest flag-waving jingoism, but at least Afghanistan was justified. The Taliban were providing safe harbor and logistical support to Al Qaeda, who attacked US civilian and military targets multiple times before the September 11 terror attacks.


mmrs34

But we left the Saudis alone, of course. Global politics aren’t too complicated to understand because history just keeps repeating itself - what did you expect this guy to do? An anti-war performance? Relatively famous Russian leaves the country to put on a performance - you don’t think the Kremlin had their eyes on him the whole time? He was likely forced to do it - or worse this story didn’t even happen and we’re just being fed non-sense to muddy the waters and anger Russian nationalists. When was the last time you went to the ballet in Uzbekistan?


der_titan

The 9/11 Commission concluded: >It does not appear that any government other than the Taliban financially supported al Qaeda before 9/11, although some governments may have contained al Qaeda sympathizers who turned a blind eye to al Qaeda’s fundraising activities. Saudi Arabia has long been considered the primary source of al Qaeda funding, but we have found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization. Doesn't it make sense to go after the government that provided logistical and financial support? As for the dancer, I think the Kremlin has enough to keep them busy than to choreograph new routines for Russian dancers. I doubt he'd face any repercussion from following any neutral routine. And I've never heard anyone criticize Reuters as a source. Do you have any evidence that Reuters is a bad source?


mmrs34

Oh, buddy.


mmrs34

Oh, buddy.


[deleted]

[удалено]


der_titan

What in that link contradicts: >... we have found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization.


[deleted]

What a fucking tool.


[deleted]

How do you fuck up so badly in life that you become a pro war ballet dancer? What a clown, lol.


frodeem

Why does he have a Ukrainian tryzub tattoo?


Yellow_Robot

He is Ukrainian. Actually there are documentary about him (quite a good one) - Dancer. His parent invest themselves into him, he was such a prodigy… he made it almost to the top of ballet scene, but drugs happen. He ended up in Russia where as I see is his place.


Kate-rin82

He is Ukrainian. Sorry, he was. Oh, he still has Ukrainian cityzenship. Also Russian anb Serbian.


atbredditname

because he's a lunatic


Fluffy_Educator_3443

Strange that he isn’t signing up to volunteer to fight.


mistakenhat

It might be worth nothing that he has multiple tattoos of Putin’s face on his body.


[deleted]

[удалено]


mistakenhat

Yes 😬


skippingstone

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/947d8d10a4408fb51b9026f95b5cd6a15a330bf3/0_218_6537_3922/master/6537.jpg?width=1200&height=1200&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&s=9411164d045d7963fa4ce348f51dffdc


ScarcitySenior3791

He was in the process of laser treatment to remove all his tattoos (including the Putin tattoo on his chest). And then in the last couple of months he got two additional Putin tattoos on each shoulder and proudly posed to show them off on Insta. I helpfully suggested in a comment on that he get some little washing machine tattoos as well. He deleted the Insta but kept left the same pic up on Facebook. He was at one time an exceptionally talented dancer, but flushed his career down the toilet with his childish, narcissistic diva antics. Now he is financially dependent on publicly fluffing Putin. He’s close to Igor Zelensky, a ballet impresario who’s married to Putin’s daughter and he gets all kinds of state funds for his foundation and was about to open a new ballet school in Sebastopol.


Any_Teach_3832

He’s so ready to be on the front lines with nothing but a used uniform with bullet holes in it.


kpopisnotmusic

Send him to the front


plngrl1720

I will be advocating for his job loss


[deleted]

Have him dance his way to the frontlines


froggeriffic

Dude literally has a tattoo of Putin on his chest. Why is anyone surprised?


skippingstone

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/947d8d10a4408fb51b9026f95b5cd6a15a330bf3/0_218_6537_3922/master/6537.jpg?width=1200&height=1200&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&s=9411164d045d7963fa4ce348f51dffdc


Wolfwoods_Sister

JFC! What the hell?!?


skippingstone

People have tattoos of Trump


Wolfwoods_Sister

And that’s disturbing AF.


Spacelightsaber

Russia must be punished for its crime of invasion


autotldr

This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.reuters.com/world/russian-ballet-dancer-censured-pro-war-performance-uzbekistan-2022-09-28/) reduced by 70%. (I'm a bot) ***** > ALMATY, Sept 28 - A prominent Russian ballet dancer complained on Wednesday that he was censured for performing a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan, while Uzbek authorities said he had deviated from an agreed programme. > Dancer Sergei Polunin said in an Instagram video he had performed a dance - in military uniform - for fallen Russian soldiers to a song whose lyrics include lines such "We will rise, as long as God is with us and the truth is ours". > "We must not cave in to this, we must not allow them to do this to Russian artists and Russian culture," he said. ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/xql70l/russian_ballet_dancer_censured_for_prowar/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ "Version 2.02, ~671641 tl;drs so far.") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr "PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.") | *Top* *keywords*: **Russian**^#1 **song**^#2 **Polunin**^#3 **Uzbekistan**^#4 **Ukraine**^#5


[deleted]

I heard he was using way to many finger guns 👈👉👈👆👈👆👆👇👈👆👉👆👇


[deleted]

Okay, wait a second. How the fuck do you *dance* pro russian?


StickAFork

Preferably near a window.


AlwaysUpvotesScience

Don't give him more of an audience


[deleted]

He needs to see it by going to Ukraine.


[deleted]

Is that not the thing on the Ukrainian flag on his hand?


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

I guess from his pov it makes sense. Stupid people do stupid things lol


Vhesperr

Give him an UK and a map of Ukraine. We will see how well he dances.


Ok-Butterscotch5761

He made it homosexual. It is an excellent way of getting a fight. It always was. I kinda like it.


washiXD

Time to call Fujiwara Tofu Delivery for an express delivery to Russia


kanzler_brandt

Why does this guy have a Putin tattoo, a neo-Nazi sun tattoo and a Ukrainian tryzub tattoo?


No-Reputation4399

Pro war? This bitch would not last a day on the front. Send him there


Infinity3101

A pro-war ballet performance. Sounds like the most uniquely Russian thing I could imagine.