Monday, Svetlana Kirenko was a dancer with the Donbass troupe, a prestigious Soviet dance troupe touring the United States. Today she is hoping to start a new life in the United States.
Last week, Kirenko met 22-year-old Robert Retallick during a performance in Rexburg - and apparently fell in love.Tuesday afternoon love overcame the barriers of language and politics as Kirenko defected following the World Folkfest in Springville. It was Retallick who alerted U.S. authorities that Kirenko wanted to defect.
The seeds of love were planted only a week ago in Rexburg, Idaho. The two conversed through an interpreter "to the point that they felt they may want to spend a lot of time together in the future," said Brent Haymond, chairman of the board of directors for the World Folkfest.
Retallick's mother, contacted in Rexburg Wednesday, said her son left for Salt Lake City Tuesday afternoon, presumably to be with Kirenko.
"I think he thinks that he's in love, and I think that's the major force that caused what happened," Haymond told The Associated Press. "To me, that was the major emphasis for Svetlana to make the decision she made."
Kirenko's defection was one of three that occurred following last week's World Folkfest in Springville. Two dancers from the People's Republic of China defected to the United States in addition to Kirenko.
The three were among some 350 dancers participating in the fourth
annual event. They were identified as Chen Li, 24, and Zhe Quian, 27, both from Guizhou, China, and Svetlana Kirenko, 32, from the Donetsk region of the Ukraine.
Kirenko reportedly defected with the assistance of the FBI, though the FBI refused to comment on the situation. The Chinese women defected with the assistance of family members living in the United States.
Haymond said the two Chinese women were last seen Friday morning when they told their host family they were going for a walk and never returned.
Haymond said witnesses saw them get into a car with a Chinese man, believed to be the husband of one of the women, about 8 a.m.
The dancers called the host family later Friday from somewhere out of the state and to say they were safe and "in good hands." They thanked the host family for all it had done, Haymond said. The other Chinese woman also has relatives in the United States.
"I think it was an issue of their desire to be together," Haymond said.
Haymond believes the women are in Houston, Texas, where one dancer's husband is attending college. "All indications are that that is the case," he said.
The Chinese troupe was a last-minute replacement for another dance group held back in Beijing because of problems there, Haymond said. The second group had been performing in the United States for 45 days and was diverted to Springville as the last stop on its tour.
The remaining Chinese delegation left Springville on a bus at 6 p.m. Saturday for San Francisco. From there they flew back to China.
In Kirenko's case, it was a week-old relationship with Retallick, an Idahoan she met last week when the Soviet troupe performed at a similar festival in Rexburg.
Carol Gadd, host for four Ukrainian women, said she received a call at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday from an FBI official in Salt Lake City who said that an agent from Provo was coming to pick up Kirenko. Kirenko had apparently contacted the FBI earlier and expressed her desire for asylum.
"I didn't have a clue," said Gadd.
When the other Ukrainian women were getting ready to leave for the Salt Lake International Airport at about 3 a.m., Kirenko refused to get in the van. Gadd said they were surprised by Kirenko's intentions.
A few moments later an FBI agent showed up at Gadd's house and said he was taking Kirenko to a "safehouse," Gadd said.
She said Kirenko asked her if she had "any problem" with her decision. "I told her it was her decision and that I hoped everything worked out for her," she said.
Soviet tour officials reportedly took the news well.
"Of course, they were upset, but it's not like they were angry," said Springville Police Sgt. Dave Carron. "They were concerned. They realized the impact of a choice like that. This lady has basically decided to give up her entire life to come to America. They were concerned about her well-being.
"They were primarily concerned that the lady made the decision on her own and that is really what she wanted to do," he added.
Haymond is worried that the defections could jeopardize the World Folkfest's future. He said the folkfest committee has worked to establish a relationship with Eastern Bloc countries and is worried that defections could ruin that relationship.
"We have worked diligently to encourage the dancers not to stay," he said. "If people are going to defect, then this is just not going to work. But if they want to stay, then they have to be responsible for their decision."
This is the first time that any dancers have defected during the World Folkfest. However, a Polish dancer attempted to defect four years ago, apparently due to an infatuation with an American citizen. "In talking with the U.S. citizen, it was stopped," said Haymond.
But Carron said based on his own experiences with the dancers, many are overwhelmed by life in America.
"I talked with another host family and they say in some ways we should expect it. These people love their countries, but they come here, from places like Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia . . . and there are no food lines. The grocery stores are stocked. You can buy anything."