Maris-Rudolf Eduardovich Liepa

Maris-Rudolf Eduardovich Liepa (born July 27, 1936, Riga, Latvia—died March 25, 1989, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) was a Soviet ballet dancer who performed with the Bolshoi Ballet for more than 20 years. Liepa studied in Riga and at the Bolshoi ballet school (in 1961 renamed the Moscow Academic Choreographic School). He performed with the Riga Ballet (1955–56) and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchencko Music Theatre (1956–60) before becoming the principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet (1960–81). From...