Godunov Defects: Soviet Dancer Seeks Freedom

Alexander Godunov defected to the United States on August 23, 1979, during the Bolshoi Ballet's American tour, walking out of his New York hotel and asking for political asylum. He was 29, one of the Bolshoi's principal dancers, and his departure triggered a three-day international standoff. His wife, fellow Bolshoi dancer Ludmilla Vlasova, was placed on an Aeroflot plane at JFK airport almost immediately after Godunov's defection. U.S. State Department officials, suspecting she was being taken back to Moscow against her will, ordered the plane held on the tarmac. For 72 hours, Soviet diplomats, American officials, and the FBI negotiated while the plane sat surrounded by vehicles and the world's media. Eventually, an American diplomat was allowed to board and speak with Vlasova, who said she wanted to return to the Soviet Union. The plane was cleared to depart. Whether her choice was voluntary or coerced has been debated ever since. Born in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on November 28, 1949, Godunov trained at the Riga Choreographic School and later at the Bolshoi, where he was promoted to principal dancer and became known for his athleticism and dramatic stage presence. His blond hair and towering frame made him visually distinctive, and his defection made him famous in a way that ballet alone never would have. In the United States, he danced with American Ballet Theatre under Mikhail Baryshnikov, another Soviet defector. The two had been rivals in the Soviet system, and their relationship in the West was similarly competitive. Godunov left ABT in 1982 and transitioned to film acting, appearing in Die Hard as a German terrorist and in Witness opposite Harrison Ford. His personal life deteriorated after his performing career faded. He struggled with alcoholism and depression. He was found dead in his Hollywood apartment on May 18, 1995, at 45. The cause of death was acute alcoholism complicated by hepatitis. He had become a symbol of Cold War cultural defection whose American career never fully matched the promise of his departure.