What was acclaimed Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov’s cause of death?

The world of professional dancing has been left reeling after the tragic death of acclaimed ballet dancer, Vladimir Shklyarov, at the age of just 39. 

News of the Russian ballerino’s passing was announced by his dance company, Mariinsky Theater, who said the death came as “​​a huge loss not only for the theater’s staff, but for all of today’s ballet art.” It marked the conclusion of Shklyarov’s unparalleled career in ballet, having joined the Mariinsky Theater ballet troupe in 2003 after graduating from the Academy of Russian Ballet.

Working his way up the esteemed troupe, the Saint Petersburg-born dancer was promoted to a principal dancer in the Mariinsky Theater in 2011, taking on several leading roles in many of the world’s most famous productions. Throughout his career, Shklyarov starred in Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, as well as La Sylphide, Giselle, Corsaire, La Bayadère and Raymonda. 

He went on to further grow his impressive credits list by dancing for New York City’s Metropolitan Opera, London’s Royal Opera House and Washington DC’s The Kennedy Center. Naturally, the tragic cutting short of Shklyarov’s illustrious career has fans questioning the circumstances around his death, including what caused it and who the ballerino is survived by. 

Vladimir Shklyarov fell from a building. 

At the time of their statement, the Mariinsky Theater did not share details around Vladimir Shklyarov’s cause of death or where it happened. Hours later, however, a representative for the dance company, Anna Kasatkina, told local news outlets that Shklyarov died after falling from the fifth floor of a building, without divulging the whereabouts of his passing. Kasatkina said Shklyarov was on painkillers at the time of his death, in preparation for “a complex spinal surgery” that was scheduled to take place this week.

While some elements of this account by Kasatkina remain the same, fellow ballerina Irina Bartnovskaya shared a few different details about the circumstances surrounding Shklyarov’s cause of death. Bartnovskaya — a retired ballerina who presumably worked with and knew of Shklyarov — reportedly wrote on Telegram that the building he fell from was the fifth floor of his own apartment. She said Shklyarov had gone on to his “very narrow balcony” to have a cigarette and fell five stories in “a stupid, unbearable accident.” Other outlets have reported Shklyarov fell while trying to reenter his apartment from the balcony.   

Bartnovskaya also claimed that Shklyarov was on painkillers at the time of his death, but said they were in preparation for a foot surgery, and not the spinal surgery claimed in Kasatkina’s account. “There is no need to ask the reason,” Bartnovskaya reportedly wrote of those speculating about Shklyarov’s cause of death, describing it as “a terrible tragedy” and urging people to “remember that he left behind small children.” An investigation into the circumstances around Shklyarov’s death has been launched, but the preliminary cause has been listed as an accident, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

It should be noted that Shklyarov had previously criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and an awful lot of people who did that have since died through ‘accidentally’ falling from buildings. But, without further evidence on this particular incident, we can’t speculate further.

Shklyarov is survived by his wife of eleven years and fellow ballet dancer Maria Shylyarov, and their two children, Alexey and Alexandra. “Our condolences to the artist’s family, loved ones, friends and all the numerous admirers of his work and talent,” Mariinsky Theater’s statement continued. “He forever inscribed his name in the history of world ballet art.”