Legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya has died of a heart attack at the age of 89, Bolshoi Theatre director Vladimir Urin announces.

The Russian ballet legend died in Germany, where she lived since 1991, Vladimir Urin says.

“The doctors tried everything, but there was nothing they could do,” Vladimir Putin is quoted as saying by Tass agency.

President Vladimir Putin expressed his “deep condolences” to Plisetskaya’s family and relatives.

Maya Plisetskaya joined the Bolshoi in 1943, captivating audiences around the world with the purity of her performances.

In 1960, she became the Bolshoi’s prima ballerina.

Among Maya Plisetskaya’s acclaimed roles were Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Carmen in Carmen Suite.

She left the stage aged 65, becoming a choreographer and giving master classes around the world.

Maya Plisetskaya moved to Munich, Germany, with her composer husband Rodion Shchedrin in 1991.