Russian President Putin talks with ballerina at new Mariinsky Theatre

In this photo taken on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 actors perform scene of the coronation from Boris Godunov opera during a “pre-premiere” performance, put on for veterans and senior employees of the theatre in the new Mariinsky Theatre on the eve of the it’s official opening. <AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky>

Russian President Vladimir Putin and famous Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya speak before the Grand Gala dedicated to the opening of the new stage of Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, May 2, 2013. <AP Photo/Anatoly Maltsev, Pool>