What really caused Vladimir Shklyarov to fall to his death?

At approximately 1 a.m. on Saturday, 16 November, Vladimir Shklyarov fell to his death from the fifth floor of his apartment block at Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment on St Petersburg’s Vasilyevsky Island. He was 39. That much is true. How and why he fell will be the subject of ongoing conjecture, perhaps for years to come.

Nicknamed ‘the Skylark’ by English-speaking balletomanes, Shklyarov was nearing the end of his career as one of his generation’s greatest dancers, possessing an elegant lyrical, yet athletic, virtuoso performance style and technique, which was second to none. His whole career was centred on St Petersburg, from his training at the famous Vaganova Academy to his subsequent career in the Mariinsky Ballet for over 20 years. In 2020, he received the highest state accolade when he became an Honoured Artist of Russia. Like all dancers approaching 40, friends say that he was dreading the end of his career.