In 1970, Natalia Makarova became the first female ballet star to defect to the West from Russia.The dancer claimed asylum during a UK tour, nine years after another Russian dancer, Rudolf Nureyev, had defected.Natalia later joined the American Ballet Theatre in New York. She wouldn’t return to her home country for almost 20 years.Jane Wilkinson has been looking through the archive to discover the reasons behind her defection.(Photo: Natalia Makarova in New York, 1980. Credit: Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Image

In 1970, Natalia Makarova became the first female ballet star to defect to the West from Russia. The dancer claimed asylum during a UK tour, nine years after another Russian dancer, Rudolf Nureyev, had defected. Natalia later joined the American Ballet Theatre in New York. She wouldn’t return to her home country for almost 20 years. Jane Wilkinson has been looking through the archive to discover the reasons behind her defection. (Photo: Natalia Makarova in New York, 1980. Credit: Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Image

Russian ballerina defects to the west

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
 
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
 
Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. 
 
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
 
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest, the disastrous D-Day rehearsal, and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

Society & Culture

History

Personal Journals

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest, the disastrous D-Day rehearsal, and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

Share Russian ballerina defects to the west

Sign up to save your podcasts

Russian ballerina defects to the west

Russian ballerina defects to the west

More shows like Witness History

Global News Podcast

From Our Own Correspondent

Business Daily

More or Less

Newshour

World Business Report

In Our Time

The Documentary Podcast

History Extra podcast

In Our Time: History

The History Hour

Great Lives

Lives Less Ordinary

Profile

Crossing Continents

Dan Snow's History Hit

The Inquiry

The Life Scientific

The Audio Long Read

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

Have You Heard George's Podcast?

Elis James and John Robins

You're Dead to Me

Sport's Strangest Crimes

Uncanny

Dua Lipa: At Your Service

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

Believe in Magic

The Global Story

Miss Me?

The Explanation

The History Podcast

Rory Stewart: The Long History of...

Havana Helmet Club