Talented Belarusian choreographer caught in St. Petersburg with drugs

Nikita Barys. Photo: press service of Arkady Raikin Variety Theater

On March 10, 2026, the Primorsky District Court of St. Petersburg found 30-year-old Belarusian, choreographer Nikita Barys, guilty of illegal possession of drugs on a large scale and sentenced him to three years of probation.

Barys was born in 1995 in Dzyarzhynsk. In 2020, he graduated with honors from the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, specializing in 'ballet master art,' and in 2024, he became a laureate of the Russian National Theater Award 'Musical Heart of the Theater' in the 'best plastic solution' category for the play 'The Bear' at the St. Petersburg Theater for Young Spectators. Since 2021, he has been collaborating with the Arkady Raikin Variety Theater as a movement director and choreographing director.

According to the case materials, the choreographer was detained by the police late in the evening near a residential building — he himself told officers that he had mephedrone in his backpack. Two packets were found: 5.04 g in one compartment and 0.25 g in the second, totaling 5.29 g. This is a 'large scale' amount, which is approximately five times higher than the lower limit.

The choreographer was not sent to a pre-trial detention center; he was released home to await trial.

Barys himself stated that he had been using mephedrone since summer 2025 and stored it at home. On the day of the arrest, he took the drug with him, met an acquaintance, they went to visit someone together, where they consumed the substance, and he was stopped on the way to the store. At the time of detention, he was in a state of alcoholic and drug intoxication — the court, however, did not consider this an aggravating circumstance. No traces of drug trafficking were found on his phone (iPhone 16).

Among the mitigating circumstances, the court considered his admission of guilt, repentance, and his mother's health condition. The theater management characterizes the choreographer positively. After his detention, Barys voluntarily registered with a narcologist.

The article under which he was convicted (Part 2, Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) allows for up to 10 years of imprisonment. The court imposed the lower limit — three years — and that too conditionally, with a probationary period of two years.

If, within two years, Barys does not get involved in any other criminal activity, the sentence will not be executed, and the conviction will be expunged.

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