|
The 69-year-old Baryshnikov, born in Riga to Russian parents,
will have two passports as he is also a U.S. citizen.
"When I received invitation from Latvian government to accept
honorary citizenship, my heart quivered," Baryshnikov said
during a ceremony in parliament where he was given the Latvian
passport by deputy parliamentary speaker Inese Libina-Egnere.
"I thought how wonderful it would be to return to my childhood
(country) no longer as an outsider, but as a native, to visit my
mother's grave, to cherish those whom I loved and respected as a
child. ... I am grateful for that."
Baryshnikov, considered one of the greatest ballet dancers
alongside Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev and Vladimir Vasiliev,
left Latvia in 1964 to begin his career in Leningrad.
He defected to Canada in 1974 before moving to the United States
to join the New York City Ballet.
"My childhood in Riga was not necessarily easy, as the son of
Russian parents," Baryshnikov wrote in a letter to law makers
ahead of parliament's vote to grant him citizenship.
"My father ... was stationed in Latvia to occupy the nation. In
spite of this fraught circumstance, I developed a strong
connection to the people of Latvia."
Baryshnikov has also made a name for himself as an actor. In
1977 he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe
for his role as Yuri Kopeikine in the film "The Turning Point".
He also appeared in the TV series "Sex and the City".
During the past two years Baryshnikov has participated in arts
projects in Latvia, collaborating with critically acclaimed
director Alvis Hermanis.
He was awarded citizenship for his contribution to popularizing
Latvian culture internationally.
(Reporting by Gederts Gelzis; editing by Niklas Pollard, Simon
Johnson and Pritha Sarkar)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
