Vladimir Urin

Russia on Dec. 1 appointed notoriously pro-Kremlin maestro Valery Gergiev, a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin for decades, to lead Moscow's world famous Bolshoi Theater.

Gergiev takes over Russia's main stage at a time when Moscow is increasingly casting culture as a battleground in its clash with the West while troops fight in Ukraine.

Russia's Bolshoi Theater has removed a ballet dedicated to dancer Rudolf Nureyev from its repertoire, citing a new Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBT rights, its director said Wednesday.

World-renowned Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya has died at the age of 89. TASS has reported.

The Russian news agency quoted Bolshoi Theater Director General Vladimir Urin as saying Plisetskaya's composer husband Rodion Shchedrin has called him to say Plisetskaya has died of a heart failure in Germany on Saturday.