cause célèbre, Side-Eye, dabbled in acting; an international cause célèbre and a Cold War symbol of the plight of Soviet Jews.

Valery Panov, Ballet Star Who Fought to Leave the U.S.S.R., Dies at 87

Trying to move to Israel with his ballerina wife, he was harassed and jailed while becoming an international cause célèbre and a Cold War symbol of the plight of Soviet Jews.

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Valery Panov in 1978. As an internationally known ballet star, he was a prime target for the Soviet authorities, who felt that high-profile defections would humiliate them.Credit...Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

cause célèbre

/ˌkɔːz sɛˈlɛb(rə)/

noun

1. a controversial issue that attracts a great deal of public attention.

   "suddenly, saving the station's architectural integrity became a cause célèbre"

Wagner Founder Has Putin’s Support, but the Kremlin’s Side-Eye

Yevgeny Prigozhin, backed by President Vladimir Putin, is dabbling in politics alongside waging war in Ukraine. It is confounding some of Moscow’s elite.

cause célèbre 

 noun [C] plural causes célèbres an event, such as a famous legal trial, which attracts a lot of public attention

1. 【法】轟動的訟案,有名的案例

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Happy birthday to ballet virtuoso Mikhail Baryshnikov, who turns 60 today. The Russian dancer became a cause célèbre when he defected to the US in 1974. With a passion for modern dance, Baryshnikov and artistic partner Mark Morris founded the White Oak Project, a unique dance company that sets its steps to everything from rock music to silence. Baryshnikov has also dabbled in acting; TV audiences know him as Aleksandr Petrovsky, Carrie Bradshaw's love interest in Sex and the City.

Quote

"If I had to compare myself to Baryshnikov, I'd give up and take up carpentry." — Kevin McKenzie