“I'd always been one of the best in my gymnastics school, so I transferred to trying to be the best dancer, without knowing anything about ballet. I learned it as a routine.”

Russian ballet dancer, actor and model

Sergei Vladimirovich Polunin is a Russian ballet dancer, actor, and model. He has held Russian and Serbian citizenship and has said that he has always regarded himself as Russian. In 2025, he was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. Polunin is best known for his work in ballet, along with appearances as an actor and model. His public identity has often been closely tied to nationality and to the international profile he built through performance.