Yemelyan Pugachev
William Morton
Grigori Rasputin
Rudolf Nureyev
Yemelyan Pugachev (1742–1775)
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Michael ->1900 (small)
In my next life I was born the son of a small Cossack landowner, the youngest son of 4 children. I became a proud Cossack.
The Cossack way of living was one of disorder and adaption, of individualism and egalitarianism. Above all, the Cossacks defined themselves as a ‘free people’ with a healthy resistance to established authority.
The word "Cossack" means "free man" or "adventurer". They consisted of semi-independent Tartar groups who were Turkic-speaking people who lived in west-central Russia, or peasants escaping serfdom in Poland and Russia. While Tartars were usually Muslims, Cossacks were usually Christians. The Cossacks united in the 15th century as a self-governing warrior organization that was loyal only to the Russian Czar. They accepted anyone who was considered a worthy warrior, but the new members had to believe in Christ. Cossacks became known as members of democratic, self-governing, semi-military communities, predominantly located in Ukraine and in Russia, inhabiting sparsely populated areas.
Children were taught the warrior-ways of the Cossacks from birth. They were superior horsemen. By the time a Cossack was 3 years old, he was riding horses. As children, Cossack males would stage pretend battles complete with horses and sabers. The Cossack lifestyle was based on simplicity. Members shared land and lived in communes.
It was a steady emigration of refugees fleeing northern Russia for the personal freedom on the prairies that formed the first lifeblood of the Cossacks. There, in Europe’s ‘Wild East’, they were joined by renegades and misfits from across the continent, without national preference. Eventually the Tsars used them like they were cowboys, to push the frontiers of Russia southwards and east, through Siberia and as far as the Pacific Ocean to settle as pioneers to expand the fur and lumber trades. In the mid-1550s, a Tartar leader Kuchum Khan took over the area in Siberia and the Cossacks with the use of firearms easily defeated his forces.
The Kings of Poland used Cossacks like they were hells angels to protect its borders against Tatar slave raids. The Habsburg Empire hired Cossack like they were pirates to fight the Ottomans by having them raid wealthy trading port-cities in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, as these were just 2 days away by boat from the mouth of the Dnieper River. By 1615 and 1625, Cossacks had razed suburbs of Constantinople, forcing the Ottoman Sultan to flee his palace.
Ironically, the Cossacks were re-spun to connote militarism, control and obedience to central authority and perversely, their claim of fame for freedom became the claim of fame for tyranny.
By the 18th century, Cossack hosts in the Russian Empire occupied effective buffer zones on its borders. The expansionist ambitions of the Empire relied on ensuring the loyalty of Cossacks, which caused tension given their traditional exercise of freedom, democratic self-rule, and independence. Cossacks led major anti-imperial wars and revolutions in the Empire in order to abolish slavery and odious bureaucracy and to maintain independence. The Empire responded by ruthless executions and tortures.
By the end of the 18th century, Cossack nations had been transformed into special mercenary military estates. Similar to the Samurai warriors in Japan, the knights of medieval Europe or the tribal Roman Auxiliaries, the Cossacks came to military service having to obtain charger horses, arms, and supplies at their own expense. The government provided only firearms and supplies for them. Cossack service was considered the most rigorous one. The Cossacks gradually lost their power under Russian domination. They rebelled when their privileges were threatened but ultimately lost their autonomous status.
Because of their military tradition, Cossack forces played an important role in Russia's wars of the 18th–20th centuries such as in the Crimea, the Napoleonic Wars, and the wars in the Caucasus, wars against Turkey and WWI. The Tsarist regime used Cossacks extensively to perform police service, for guarding the border and as troops for the anti-Bolshevik White Army. In 1918, Cossacks declared independence and resulted in the birth of Ukraine. Despite the many resemblances between Tartars and Cossacks, the Islamic Tartars and the Christian Cossacks are mortal enemies, especially in Ukraine.
When I was 17, I signed on to military service and one year later I married a Cossack girl with whom I had a total of 5 children, 2 of whom died in infancy. Shortly after my marriage, I joined the Russian Second Army in Prussia. I returned home 2 years later and for the next 7 years I divide my time between my home village and several service assignments. During this period, I was recognized for my military skill and achieved the rank of lieutenant. I was greatly dissatisfied by how peasants were treated and how the war with the Ottoman Empire was fought.
My brother-in-law convinced me to join a group of dissatisfied Cossacks fleeing eastward for an independent Cossack community. The fleeing Cossacks were caught soon after by the authorities, and I was charged with desertion and arrested and detained. I escaped and joined a protest group and was elected their official representative. On my way to St. Petersburg to make an official complaint, my fugitive status was discovered and I was arrested again. Once more I was able to escape and return home, only to be arrested once again. Again I was able to escape and flee to a Polish border settlement. I heard of a Cossack rebellion and returned home to join and lead it. I managed to amass large numbers of peasants and Cossacks, and to acquire artillery and arms.
The rebellion I led between 1773 and 1775, known as The Cossack rebellion, was the largest peasant revolt in Russia's history. It was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in Russia after Catherine II seized power in 1762. It began as an organized insurrection of Cossacks headed by me. Because I resembled the assassinated Tsar Peter III so much, I impersonated him and assumed leadership of an alternative government in his name and proclaimed an end to serfdom. Having amassed an army through promise of reform, I was able to overrun much of the region stretching between the Volga River and the Urals. My greatest victory of the insurgency was the taking of Kazan.
The Russian army set out against us rebels with a large number of troops, but difficulty of transport, lack of discipline, and the gross insubordination of their ill-paid soldiers paralyzed all their efforts for months. We were victorious in nearly every engagement until we were finally defeated and lost 10,000 men. I was placed in a metal cage and sent to Moscow for a public execution, where in the center of Moscow, I was decapitated and then drawn and quartered in public. The rebellion I led had a long-lasting effect on Russia for years to come and the tendency in the Russian culture toward rebellious discontent is attributed to me.
Like the Cossacks, my life was one of disorder, adaptation, individualism and egalitarianism. I was a Christ-believing warrior, ready to die for freedom. Like the Cossacks, I was a nomad, a pioneer, a refugee, a cowboy, a hells angel, a pirate, a Samurai warrior, and a medieval knight - all in one. Like the Cossacks, I played an important role in Russia's rebellions.
William Morton (1819–1868)
In my next life I was born in America and became a dentist. I first publicly demonstrated the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic in 1846, when I was 27 years old. Ether, (C2H5)2O, is an organic compound in the ether class of elements. It is a colorless, highly volatile flammable liquid commonly used as a solvent in laboratories and as a starting fluid for some engines. It was first synthesized nearly 300 years before I was born by Valerius Cordus, who called it "sweet oil of vitriol". He obtained it by distilling a mixture of ethanol and sulfuric acid also known as oil of vitriol. At about the same time, Paracelsus discovered ether's analgesic properties in chickens.
I was born in Massachusetts. My father was the son of a farmer. I found work as a clerk, printer, and salesman in Boston before entering Baltimore College of Dental Surgery when I was 21 years old. A year later, I gained notoriety for developing a new process to solder false teeth onto gold plates. The following year, I left college without graduating to study in Hartford, Connecticut under a dentist as an apprentice. A year later I got engaged but my girlfriend’s parents objected to my profession. They only agreed to allow us to marry after I promised to study medicine. The following year I entered Harvard Medical School and attended chemistry lectures where I was introduced to the anesthetic properties of ether. I left Harvard without graduating.
2 years later, when I was already 27 years old, I performed a painless tooth extraction after administering ether to a patient. When some surgeons read a favorable newspaper account of this event, a demonstration of the use of ether was arranged in 1846 at an operating theater. At this demonstration a tumor from the neck of a patent was painlessly removed. News of this use of ether spread rapidly around the world, and the first recorded use of ether outside the USA was in London, England, by a dentist in a tooth extraction. I tried to hide the identity of the substance I used, by referring to it as “Letheon”, but it soon was found to be just plain old ether.
A patent was issued for "letheon", although it was widely known by then that the inhalant was ether. The medical community at large condemned the patent as unjust in such a humane and scientific profession. I assured my colleagues that I would not restrict the use of ether among hospitals and charitable institutions, alleging that my motives for seeking a patent were to ensure the competent administration of ether and to prevent its misuse or abuse, as well as to recoup the expenditures of its development. My pursuit of credit for and profit from the administration of ether was complicated by the furtive and sometimes deceptive tactics I employed during its development, as well as the competing claims of other doctors. My efforts to obtain patents overseas also undermined my assertions of philanthropic intent.
Consequently, no effort was made to enforce the patent, and ether soon came into general use. I applied to Congress for compensation but this too was complicated by the claims of others as discoverers of ether, and so my application proved fruitless. I made similar applications in following years, and all failed. I later sought remuneration for my achievement through a futile attempt to sue the United States government. When I was 33 years old, I received an honorary degree. 5 years later, a wealthy Bostonian, together with the medical professionals and influential citizens of Boston, developed a plan to raise money for my compensation.
My notoriety only increased when I served as the star defense witness in one of the most notable trials of the 19 th century - that of a man accused of murder. My rival who claimed to have discovered ether as an anesthetic testified for the prosecution, and the residents of Boston were anxious to witness these nemeses in courtroom combat. I performed public service yet again when I was 43 years old when I joined the Union army of the north in 1862 to fight the Confederate army of the south in the American Civil War. I was a volunteer surgeon and I applied ether to more than 2,000 wounded soldiers.
While in New York City, I was riding in a carriage with my wife when I got such a hot flash that I had to demand the carriage stop, and I had to run into the lake in Central Park "to cool off". It turned out that I had, in fact, suffered a major stroke which proved fatal soon after.
3 years after I died, a committee recognized me as the inventor and revealer of anesthetic inhalation and offered a monetary reward to my family for the fearful, moral and legal responsibility I assumed in pursuit of this discovery. These pioneering uses of ether were key factors in the medical and scientific pursuit referred to as anesthesiology, and allowed the development of modern surgery.
Ether became to be drunk and inhaled as a recreational drug. Although harmless, it causes temporary dependence, as the desire to consume more is very difficult to resist.
Grigori Rasputin (1869–1916)
In my next life I became a Russian peasant, mystical faith healer, and a trusted friend of the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. I became an influential figure in Saint Petersburg, especially after Nicholas took command of the army fighting in WWI. My name became synonymous with power, debauchery and lust and an easy scapegoat for Russian aristocrats, nationalists and liberals. My presence played a significant role in the increasing unpopularity of the Imperial couple. I was murdered by nobles who hoped to save Tsarism by ending my sway over the royal family.
I was born the son of a well-to-do peasant and postal coach driver in the small village in the plains of western Siberia. I was the fifth of 9 children. Only 2 survived - me and my sister. I never attended school, as there was no school in the area. Almost everybody in the village was illiterate. I was regarded as an outsider, but one endowed with mysterious gifts. I acquired a reputation as a brawler.
When I was 18 years old, I married and we had 3 children. 2 sons and a daughter. 5 years later to battle my alcoholism, I left my village, my wife, my children and my parents and spent several months in a monastery. A hermit who lived nearby helped me to stop drinking and eating meat. When I returned to the village, I had become a fervent and inspired convert. My children dreaded the long hours of enforced prayer and fasting, perhaps more than they dreaded my drinking.
I claimed that a vision of Our Lady of Kazan turned me towards the life of a religious mystic. When I was 24, I went to another monastery but left shocked and profoundly disillusioned after I was confronted with perverse sexual acts. 7 years later, I became known as a religious wanderer, visiting holy places on foot and exchanging teaching for hospitality. I only returned home to help my family for sowing and the harvest. I was considered by some a holy fool, and by others as a holy wise man.
When I was 33, private gatherings in my house had to be abandoned because of all the attention that I was receiving from locals. I however attracted the attention of the bishop and members of the upper class. My interpretations of the Scriptures were so keen and so original that even learned churchmen liked to listen to them. I was able to acquire donations for the construction of a church for my village.
A countess introduced me to Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas and his wife Tsarina Alexandra. She was interested in Persian mysticism, spiritualism, and occultism. The Tsar was very stressed as he had to deal with many stressful events like the Russo-Japanese War, the Revolution of 1905, bombs, and a 10-day general strike. Alexei, the heir to the throne who was just a boy suffered an injury which caused him painful bleeding. It was not known that he had a severe form of hemophilia, a disorder that was widespread among European royalty and the doctors were unable to help him. The desperate Tsarina invited me to see Alexei. I was able to calm the parents and their son by standing at the foot of the bed and praying. From that moment Alexandra believed that I was Alexei's savior.
Some people speculated that my healing practice included halting the administration of aspirin, a newly available pain-relieving analgesic. They were right as aspirin had blood-thinning properties, it prevented clotting and promoted bleeding, which caused Alexei's joints to swell and hurt. In 1912, Alexei suffered another accident. He jumped into a rowboat and hit one of the oarlocks. A large bruise appeared within minutes. Alexei had to be carried out in an almost unconscious state. His temperature rose and his heartbeat dropped. One week later, Alexei received the last sacrament. The Tsarina Alexandra secured my help. I responded by sending her a short telegram stating that Alexia will not die and that she should not allow the doctors to bother him too much. The following day, Alexai`s condition improved and his temperature started to drop. The court physician believed that I was a charlatan and my apparent healing powers arose from my use of hypnosis. I was expelled from St. Petersburg. The secret of my power lay in the sense of calm, gentle strength, and shining warmth of conviction.
Even before my arrival, the upper class of St Petersburg had been widely influenced by mysticism. Individual aristocrats were obsessed with anything occult. In those days Imperial Russia was confronted with a religious renaissance, a widespread interest in spiritual-ethical literature and non-conformist moral-spiritual movements, an upsurge in pilgrimage and other devotions to sacred spaces and objects. "God-Seeking" people like Helena Blavatsky, George Gurdjieff and Pyotr Ouspensky were shaping their own ritual and spiritual lives sometimes in the absence of clergy.
While fascinated by me in the beginning, the ruling class of St Petersburg began to turn against me as I had privileges no one else had - an easy access to the Imperial Family. I knew how to amuse and enliven the little Alexei. Alexandra was in conflict with her mother and sister-in-law about her continuing patronage of me. In 1910, the press started a campaign against me, claiming I was Alexandra’s lover. I was bribed by a huge sum of money to leave St Petersburg and newspapers were ordered not to mention my name in connection with the Tsarina Alexandra. She became sick and refused to meet with me for a period of time. I had become one of the most hated people in Russia. Finally Nicholas II accepted investigations on me. Two months later the bishop investigating me concluded that I was an "orthodox Christian ... who sought the truth" and the investigations were stopped. I regained influence at court and also in church affairs.
When I was 44, I was ejected from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan shortly before the celebration of 300 years of Romanov rule in Russia. But anyone bold enough to criticize me found only condemnation from the Tsarina. The emperor and his wife referred to me as Grigori, our "Friend" or "holy man", avoiding my name. Worried about the threat of a scandal, the Tsar asked me to leave for Siberia; but a few days later, at the demand of Alexandra, the order was canceled. Nicholas criticized the politicians. One year later, I had become an influential factor in Russian politics. There was soon an attempt at my life. I was approached by what looked like a beggar and when I was checking my pockets for money to give her, she pulled out a dagger and stabbed me in the stomach.
The Tsarina sent her own physician, and after more than 6 weeks in the hospital, I recovered, went back to Petrograd and started drinking after all these years of abstention. Most of my enemies had by now disappeared. The head of the police exercised 24-hour surveillance of me and my apartment with 2 detectives, not for protecting me, but for spying on me. The Tsar was given a report in an attempt to convince him to break with me. In reading it, the Tsar observed that on the day and hour at which one of the acts mentioned in the document was alleged to have taken place, I had actually been with him. To discredit me, I was charged for being drunk and opening my trousers and waving my "reproductive organ" in front of a group of female gypsy singers.
When the Balkan countries separated from the Ottoman Empire, the Russians regarded those countries as its Slavic Allies. After the First Balkan War, it was planned to partition the Ottoman Empire among them. During the Second Balkan War the Tsar tried to stop the conflict, since Russia did not wish to lose either of its Slavic allies. I warned the Tsar not to become involved and to promote a peaceful policy in 1913. I became the enemy of Grand Duke Nicholas, who was eager to go to war and push the Austrians out of the Balkans.
I spoke out against Russia going to war and begged the Tsar to do everything in his power to avoid it. From my hospital bed I sent several telegrams to the court expressing my fears for the future of the country. I was sure that if Russia went to war, that it would be the end of the monarchy. A flurry of telegrams between Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Tsar led to the cancellation of Russian general mobilization. The Tsar expected Germany would never attack Russia, France and England combined. Nicholas never-the-less ended up approving the Russian mobilization in 1914 which led Germany to declare war on Russia.
Russia hoped that the war would last until Christmas, but after a year the situation on the Eastern front had become disastrous. In the big cities there was a shortage of food and high prices and the Russian people blamed it all on "dark forces" or spies for and collaborators with Germany. Shops in Moscow, owned by foreigners, were attacked. The crowd called for the Tsarina who had German roots to be locked up in a convent. Lenin wrote an article promoting a civil war. Trotsky declared that the right of nations to select their own government must be the immovable fundamental principle of international relations. When the German army occupied Warsaw, the situation looked extremely grave, because of a shortage in weapons and ammunition. Nobody had expected the war would take so long.
Tsar Nicholas replaced Grand Duke Nicholas and took supreme command of the Russian armies hoping this would lift morale. Many people feared Alexandra would be the sole ruler of Russia and realized that the change would put Alexandra and me in charge. The Progressive bloc demanded the forming of a "government of confidence", but the Tsar rejected these proposals. A famous article, described Russia as a vehicle with no brakes, driven along a narrow mountain path by a "mad chauffeur" - me.
The liberals in the parliament thought that Alexandra and me, who believed in Tsarist autocracy were obstacles to replace absolutism with a parliamentary system. After an unsuccessful attempt to discredit the Tsarina and me in a newspaper, the Tsar pronounced the relationship between his wife and me to be a private one. While seldom meeting with Alexandra personally, I had become her personal adviser through daily telephone calls or weekly meetings. My personal influence over the Tsarina had become so great that it was me who ordered the destinies of Imperial Russia, while she compelled her weak husband to fulfill them. Her desires were interpreted by me. They seemed in her eyes to have the sanction and authority of a revelation. The Tsar had resisted my influence for a long time. At the beginning he had tolerated me because he dared not weaken the Tsarina's faith in him – a faith which kept her alive. He did not like to send me away for, if Alexei had died, in the eyes of the mother he would have been the murderer of his own son. I was often invited to see Alexei because of his colds and nosebleeds. Alexandra attributed each improvement in Alexei`s health to my prayers. She remained convinced that the child had been saved thanks to my help.
There was a concocted plan to kill me. A rumor was started which accused me of working for a separate peace and suggesting that Alexandra and me were German agents or spies. I told Alexandra the Russian army should not cross the Carpathians as the losses would be too great. There was a strong prevailing opinion that I was the actual ruler of the country. The Grand Duke Nikolai attempted to persuade Nicholas to send Alexandra away either to Yalta or to England. He argued that the Tsar's ministers who have been turned into marionettes, whose threads have been taken firmly in hand by me - the evil genius of Russia - and by the Tsarina Alexandra, who has remained a German on the Russian throne and alien to the country and its people. It was argued that my influence over the Tsarina had made me a threat to the empire and that while I was alive, Russia could not win.
The British perceived me as a real threat to the war effort. British intelligence was most concerned about my insistence on withdrawing Russian troops from WWI as this withdrawal would have allowed the Germans to transfer their Eastern Front troops to the Western Front, leading to a massive outnumbering of the Allies and threatening their defeat. My only concern was about the huge number of Russian casualties. I was offered a substantial amount of money, a bodyguard and a house if I would leave politics. I refused and feared that I would be assassinated before the end of the year. I accepted my destiny as most were convinced that I was a dangerous person and that it would help the cause of the Allies if I was forcibly removed.
I was murdered on the night after the Duma went into Christmas recess. My body was wrapped in broadcloth and thrown into a hole in the ice of a river. My murderers forgot to attach weights to my feet to make me sink. My fur coat formed an air bell and my corpse drifted into an ice mass that prevented it from flowing into the sea. My body was eventually found and was put in a zinc coffin to be buried. After I was gone, the struggle between the Tsar and the Duma became bitterer than ever. The government had difficulties to suppress riots and strikes. The Tsar ordered that rioting be suppressed by force. Mutinous soldiers shot 2 officers and joined the protesters on the streets, demanding a new constitutional government and woman suffrage. The next day more soldiers joined the rebellion. Units guarding the Tsar`s Palace declared their neutrality and thus abandoned the imperial family. The monarchy was deserted by all the élites of the old society, the landowners, the army officers, the industrialists, and politicians of the Duma. The Tsar left and was unable to continue his journey to Petrograd and was persuaded to resign. The investigation on my assassination was stopped by Kerensky and he extended an amnesty to the 3 main conspirators.
My secret grave site was found under a pile of rocks in the woods. The coffin was transported to the town hall, where a curious crowd gathered, and secured under guard overnight. My corpse was put into a packing case that once held a piano and was driven in secret to the imperial stables in Petrograd. The next day it was loaded onto a truck and taken out of Petrograd. The truck broke down and the corpse was burned in a field. Anything that had to do with me disappeared permanently.
Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993)
In my next life I was born a Tartar on a Trans-Siberian train while my mother was traveling to Vladivostok, where my father, a Red Army political commissar, was stationed. I was raised as the only son in a Tatar family about a 1000 km north of the Caspian see near the city of Kazan.
Tatars originated from the nomadic Turkic peoples of northeastern Mongolia in the beginning of the 5th century. As they became part of Genghis Khan's army in the early 13th century, a fusion of Mongol and Turkic elements took place. They were subjugated by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan and eventually moved westwards towards the plains of Russia.
The Great Khans, whom the Tartars served, had a vision of a unified world, under a single law code in which merit earned recognition, diversity flourished and trade bound people together under peace and stability. It was said that a virgin carrying a sack of gold could ride unharmed from one border of the empire to the other. Tatar expansion and conquest opened up channels of communication, making Europeans more aware of the world beyond their borders. It enabled trade and created bonds and links between diverse populations.
Many Tartars adopted Islam and most belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. Of the 2 brands of Islam, the Sunnis and the Shiites, the Sunnis believe that their authority, the caliph, was just influential people appointed by the community. The Shiites, minorities who have been often persecuted, believe that their authority, the Imams, must always be descendants of Muhammad, and were infallible and directly and divinely guided by god.
The Tatars overran large parts of Russia, including Siberia and with the Mongols, invaded Europe and attacked Poland and Hungary. In 1241, they defeated the Hungarian army and killed half of the population.
After the breakup of the Mongol Empire, the Tatars became especially identified with the western part of the empire, which included most of Europe and Russia. They formed the group known as the Golden Horde. Faced with Ottoman expansion, the empire then disintegrated into a series of small khanates, some of which became vassals of the Ottomans.
Many Tatars inter-married with Russian families, including the nobility. Many assimilated into Russian society and achieved prominent positions in government and in the military. The last independent Tatar state to be incorporated into imperial Russia was the Crimea. Some Crimean Tatars were accused of collaboration with Nazi Germany during WWII, and sent into internal exile within the Soviet Union.
Tatars have proven remarkable adept at assimilating into host societies while retaining a sense of their own identity and pride in their heritage. Having spread across the world, they have contributed to multiple cultures, bridged different civilizations and illustrated the inter-connectivity of humans around the globe. Tatar expansion and conquest opened up channels of communication, made Europeans more aware of the world beyond their borders, enabled trade and created bonds and links between diverse populations.
When my mother took me and my sisters to see the ballet "Song of the Cranes", I fell in love with dance. As a child I was encouraged to dance in folk performances and my talent was soon noticed by teachers who encouraged me to train in Leningrad. On a tour stop in Moscow with a local ballet company, I auditioned for the Bolshoi ballet company and was accepted. However, I felt that a ballet school in Leningrad was better and went there instead. Owing to the disruption of Soviet cultural life caused by WWII, I was only accepted to the school in 1955, when I was 17 years old. Upon graduation, I soon became a soloist, dancing 15 solo roles in 3 years usually paired with a ballerina who was 15 years older than me. I became one of the Soviet Union's best-known dancers and was initially allowed to travel outside the Soviet Union, when I danced in Vienna at the International Youth Festival. People were very impressed with me and I got many offers to join other ballet companies. Soon after that I was told by the Ministry of Culture that I would no longer be allowed to go abroad again.
By the late 1950s, I had become a sensation in the Soviet Union. When my ballet company was preparing to go on a European tour, my rebellious character and non-conformist attitude quickly made me an unlikely candidate for a trip to the West. The European tour was of crucial importance to the Soviet government's ambitions to portray their cultural supremacy. Fortunately for me, the leading male dancer got injured and I was chosen to replace him on the European tour.
In Paris, my performances electrified audiences and critics. I was seen to have broken the rules about mingling with foreigners. The Russian secret police, the KGB, wanted to send me back to the Soviet Union immediately. As a subterfuge, they claimed that I would not continue the tour because I was needed to dance at a special performance in the Kremlin. When it was seen that there were no special performances planed, it was stated that my mother had fallen severely ill and I needed to come home immediately to see her. It was clear to all that these were lies and it was believed that if I returned to the USSR, I was likely to be imprisoned. So when I was in the airport in Paris to be sent home, I defected with the help of French police and the daughter of the French foreign minister. Within a week, I was signed up by the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas and was performing. On a tour in Denmark I met a male soloist of the Royal Danish Ballet and we became lovers and partners.
I was offered a contract to join The Royal Ballet of London as Principal Dancer. I accepted and stayed with the Royal Ballet until 1970, when I was promoted to Principal Guest Artist, enabling me to concentrate on my increasing schedule of international guest appearances and tours. I continued to perform regularly with The Royal Ballet until committing my future to the Paris Opera Ballet in the 1980s.
Although I petitioned the Soviet government for many years to be allowed to visit my mother, I was not allowed to do so until 1987 AD, when my mother was dying and Mikhail Gorbachev consented to the visit. 2 years later, I was invited to dance with my first ballet company in Leningrad and I was able to meet many of my former teachers and colleagues I had not seen since I defected.
I did not have much patience with rules, limitations and hierarchical order and had at times a volatile temper. My impatience mainly showed itself when the failings of others interfered with my work. I socialized with Gore Vidal, Freddie Mercury, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Andy Warhol, Lee Radziwill and Talitha Pol, but developed intolerance for celebrities. I kept up old friendships in and out of the ballet world for decades, and was considered to be a loyal and generous friend. I was known as extremely generous to many ballerinas, who credit me with helping them during difficult times.
When AIDS appeared in France's news around 1982, I took little notice. 2 years later I tested positive for HIV but for several years I simply denied that anything was wrong with my health. I began a marked decline 7 years later. I was hospitalized and eventually died from cardiac complications. I was only 54. Many paid tributes to my brilliance as a dancer. One such tribute came from my first ballet company in Leningrad which claimed that what I did in the west, I could never have done in Russia.
My influence on the world of ballet changed the perception of male dancers. My artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women. Another important influence was my crossing the borders between classical ballet and modern dance by performing and excelling in both.
I attribute my success to my Tartar heritage which drove me to move west and to unify the art of dance by creating bonds and links between diverse forms and adopting a totally new culture and way of life. Like the Tartars, I had a vision of a unified world concerning my dancing. Like the Tartars, I adopted a totally new culture. Like with Tartars after the breakup of the Mongol Empire, I became especially identified with the western culture after the breakup of the Russian Empire. I assimilated into western society and achieved prominent positions in their arts. Like the Tartars, I have proven remarkable adept at assimilating into host societies while retaining a sense of my own identity and pride in my heritage. Having spread across the world, I have contributed to multiple cultures, bridged different styles and illustrated the inter-connectivity of humans around the globe. My expansion and conquest opened up channels of communication, made Russians more aware of the world beyond their borders, and enabled bonds and links between Russia and the west.
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A few short lives of Rafael before 1000AD
Sun Tzu, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Spartacus, Xiahou Dun, Abu al-Abbās “Shedder of blood”, Saint Cyril, Al-Farabi, Avicenna aka ibn Sina
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