‘There have been a lot of unexplained deaths in Russia’: The mysterious demise of a ballet star

He won international acclaim for dancing the lead roles in all-time great classical ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and Giselle, but on Saturday night Vladimir Shklyarov, a 39-year-old principal with Russia’s prestigious Mariinsky Theatre, lost his life in a tragedy to rival any that he performed on stage. This former Romeo fell 60ft from a fifth-floor balcony – a shocking event, and one that has raised suspicions given that Shklyarov publicly criticised his country’s invasion of Ukr