Since the age of 10, Svetlana Zakharova has devoted her life to ballet. Originally from Ukraine, her extraordinary talent catapulted her to world fame as the prima ballerina of Russia's renowned Bolshoi Ballet. Considered one of the greatest ballerinas of her generation, Zakharova is often compared with Russia's iconic male ballet dancers, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. But her success has come at a price. 'At the age of 10, my childhood was over and I started a new grown-up life,' she told Al Jazeera. Zakharova gave up her childhood to practise the art form she says she was physically designed for, despite ballet being 'unnatural for a human body. The stretching, the turnouts and the training load.' 'You get used to living with pain,' she said. 'I sometimes ask myself if I made any sacrifices. But I don't know any other way of life ... I have no regrets. Even when I'm exhausted and tired, when I want to hide from everyone and everything, I never think about quitting.' In 2006, Zakharova became a member of Russia's Presidential Council for Culture and Art, and in 2008, she was elected to a term in the Russian parliament. 'I did not just join the parliament to do something I didn't know,' she said. 'I was in the Culture Committee, which was my territory. So I worked there for some time. But I did not come back after my convocation because, first of all, I gave birth to my daughter and I understood that it's impossible to be a ballerina, a parliamentarian and a mother at once.' 'Russia has always been strong in culture,' she said. 'In my opinion, if there's money to pay attention to the arts, all the other spheres are more or less in a good state.' Asked about relations between her native Ukraine and Russia, Zakharova said: 'Now, I am not related to Ukraine in any way ... I believe that our politicians will do what's right. I'm just really sad that our
