The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania, Agne Bilotaite, appealed to the country’s President Gitanas Nausėda with a request to make a decision to deprive the ballerina Ilze Liepa of Lithuanian citizenship. This was reported on November 24 Sputnik Lithuania with reference to the press service of the department.
Bilotaite prepared her appeal, guided by the law on citizenship and taking into account the information provided by the competent authorities. It says that Liepa, through his actions and public statements, poses a “threat” to the security interests of the Baltic republic.
The reason was the words Liepa said a year ago during an interview with the Russian YouTube channel “Empathy Manuchi”. The ballerina supported Russia’s special operation in Ukraine and added that she has no doubts in what Russian President Vladimir Putin is saying. She has both Russian and Lithuanian citizenship.
The Migration Department, which began the procedure for depriving the ballerina of citizenship, turned to the Department of State Security (DSS) with a request to evaluate the ballerina’s statements. The State Security Service indicated that Liepa, while supporting the special operation, “openly condemns the Baltic countries for their policies,” which do not correspond to the interests of the Russian Federation. In addition, the department announced the ballerina’s loyalty to Russia and the possibility of her being used by Russian government agencies or intelligence services carrying out activities directed against Lithuania.
Earlier, on November 13, the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered the migration department to begin the procedure for the loss of Lithuanian citizenship by the ballerina.
The next day, the country’s Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said that Vilnius has every reason to revoke Liepa’s citizenship, which was obtained as an exception. She pointed out that a person who received a Lithuanian passport not by birthright, but for other reasons, especially does not have the right to contradict state institutions in his statements, disagreeing with the official line of the state.
Ilze Liepa is the daughter of the Soviet ballet soloist of Latvian origin Maris Liepa. In the 2000s, she received Lithuanian citizenship after dancing with Lithuanian ballet dancer Petras Skirmantas for more than ten years.
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