The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow removed a modern ballet about a legendary Russian dancer from its repertoire Rudolf Nureyevas a result of the extension of the ban on “LGBT propaganda”, reports Reuters.

The law, passed in November, not only expanded the existing ban on material deemed to promote LGBT lifestyles, but also restricted any “demonstration” of LGBT behavior.

This makes any depiction of homosexuality, such as Nureyev’s relationships with men after he left the Soviet Union in 1961, which the ballet touches on, almost impossible.

The ballet, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, has had a troubled history in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has long promoted conservative values ​​as part of a nationalist agenda supported by the Russian Orthodox Church.

It premiered in December 2017, but the play has not been staged since 2018 after the then culture minister said the play was gay. Performances scheduled for 2022 were abruptly canceled after Serebrennikov publicly criticized Russia for the conflict in Ukraine.

“”Nuriyev” was removed from the repertoire in connection with the law… where the issue of promoting “non-traditional values” is spelled out absolutely unequivocally,” the general director of the Bolshoi Theater, Volodymyr Urin, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Serebrennikov, one of Russia’s leading film, theater, television and set designers, made his disappointment clear.

“This criminal ‘law’ was passed specifically against this show and against several books… Well, well…” he wrote on his Telegram channel, adding three rainbows, the LGBT symbol.

Serebrennikov was detained in 2017 and spent almost two years under house arrest, and in 2020 he received a suspended sentence on charges of embezzlement of state subsidies. After he paid back the amount, the conviction was overturned last year.