#sokolovsky

This is my old doodle of Soviet Marshal V. D. Sokolovsky. It is not my prettiest drawing, I tried to fix it but it still looks a bit ass and does not do the handsome guy justice. But today I look at him, and I'm kind of like-- I wish I had his "people talent". THAT would be helpful :(

I remember that from Gregory Klimov's memoir, there were many anecdotal stories floating among the Red Army ranks. For example, Marshal Zhukov would dress himself as an ordinary soldier, stand upon a muddy crossroad, and try to flag down the Red army transport vehicles to see which one would stop and pick up a helpless old soldier-- and which ones wouldn't. He noted down the cars that sped past him and would later hand those officers' asses back to them. Of course, it was probably just a Soviet urban legend, yet it conveys that Zhukov is a self-righteous hero of harsh temperament.

Another urban legend is "being as smart as Sokolovsky". The soviet civilians would taunt each other "oh yeah? Are you as smart as comrade Sokolovsky?" I don't know exactly what unverifiable stories gave rise to this impression, but it holds some water. Sokolovsky had been the wise but inconspicuous spoke person between the east and the west, the army and the Poliburo. He had been Zhukov's right hand man during the entire Patriotic War, and assisted him in dealing with formal Allied meetings.

He literally emerge unscathed during all the internal power struggles.

From Kirill Sokolovsky’s interview with La Personne. 

Kirill, how did you get into ballet?

I took dance and step classes together with my next-door neighbour - a girl. When I was in fourth grade, some people from the Belarusian State Choreography Gymnasium-College came to our school; they were looking for potential new students. When they asked: “Does anyone do dance?”, I raised my hand, naturally. They asked me to step forward, looked me over, and asked for my mom’s phone number. They called her almost immediately. I worked out that the trip from my house to the college would take an hour and a half one way, and together with my parents we decided that the commute would be too long. We turned the offer down. The college wouldn’t stop calling, though. They called every day, even after the enrolments had finished. I ended up coming to the second round of auditions later that summer. I was very vocal about not wanting to dance in tights, but my mom bribed me with the promise of a present. In the end, I got in.

What happened next?

I got on with my training in Belarus, but as time went on I learned more and more about Vaganova Ballet Academy. Overtime, I developed a strong desire to train there. One day, Vladimir Vasiliev came [to Minsk] to stage “Anyuta” - one of his ballets; I danced the part of Anyuta’s brother. During one of the rehearsals, Vladimir Viktorovich suggested that I should try to transfer [to VBA]. I gave it a go and, when I was in third year, I moved to St Petersburg. My parents had no idea about any of this until my transfer was finalised.

From Kirill Sokolovsky’s interview with La Personne. 

When did you start modelling?

When I was fifteen. Gosha Rubchinsky got in touch with me on Instagram and invited me to take part in a photoshoot for an American magazine. Initially, I said yes, but I changed my mind later. I had no idea who Gosha Rubchinsky was at the time. A year later, he invited me to join a shoot for British Vogue, and that time around I went through with it. That is how I met my agent, Yulia Shavyrina, director of Avant modelling agency.

How did you balance your modelling career with your training, and how do you balance it with you professional ballet career?

I modelled during school holidays and on weekends. I would get on a plane after the Saturday class and would fly back on Monday morning. My training took a hit because of that schedule, even though modelling isn’t a particularly taxing activity when you compare it to ballet. You get tired of the monotony, rather than the physical aspect of it. I’m not doing any shoots at the moment. Ballet is my only priority.

From Kirill Sokolovsky’s interview with La Personne.

You have just moved cities for the third time. Are you used to change?

I hardly get to see the city, because I spend all my time in the theatre. I don’t have time for anything else.

Do you miss your family?

My parents live in Minsk with my three brothers. I have been completely on my own since I had been accepted into Vaganova Ballet Academy. I don’t miss them, and they know it. Of course, sometimes I get nostalgic about my childhood, my home, my mom’s cooking, but I simply don’t have the time to be homesick. The season has started, and there is a lot of work to do, new repertoire to learn. I was always falling behind when I was at the academy, and I must get up to speed now. 

In one interview you said that you dream of living and working in Moscow. What was the reason? The Mariinsky appears to be the main goal of all St Petersburg [students].

Yes, that is true. You see, I have many relatives in Moscow. There are so many, in fact, that if you were to get them all together, no restaurant in the city would be able to accommodate us. I have dreamed of dancing at the Bolshoi since Grade 7 / Level II at Vaganova. I don’t know why... I just longed to dance there. Dancing at the Bolshoi, much like getting on the cover of Vogue, is an unrealistic dream. That is why I came to Moscow - to try my luck.