13 things about Los Angeles, California ballerina Ksenia Karelina

Ksenia Karelina Khavana is a Russian-American esthetician and ballerina based in Los Angeles, California, United States. One of the 25 sister cities of the city is Saint Petersburg, Russia, which is around 2,490 kilometers away from Yekaterinburg, Russia.

BIOGRAPHY

Khavana is a citizen of Russia and the U.S. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. She has no relatives in the U.S.
2. She was born in Yekaterinburg.
3. She went to the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland, USA before relocating to Los Angeles.
4. From 1999 to 2009, she attended Gymnasium № 8 “Diaghilev Lyceum” in Yekaterinburg.
5. From 2009 to 2013, she attended Urals Federal University in Yekaterinburg.
6. In 2012, she emigrated to the U.S.
7. From 2019 to 2024, she worked at a spa in Los Angeles.
8. In 2021, she received U.S. citizenship after marrying an American man but they later divorced.
9. In 2022, she donated money to a charity supporting Ukraine, which the Russian government considered treason.
10. In 2023, she started dating Chris van Heerden.
11. In 2024, she was arrested in Yekaterinburg.
12. On December 13, 2024, she turned 33.
13. In 2025, she was released from Russia and she went back to the U.S.

TIMELINE

In January 2024, Khavana flew from Istanbul, Turkiye to Russia for a two-week trip to spend time with her grandmother, then 90, younger sister and parents. The ballerina was supposed to return to the U.S. after the trip but that did not happen because she was arrested in Russia.

2016

• In January 2016, she was in Baltimore.
• On February 14, 2016, she celebrated Valentine’s Day in Pikesville, Maryland, USA.
• On February 25, 2016, she was a Liberty Mountain Resort in Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania, USA.

2019

• In June 2019, she joined Ciel Spa at the SLS Beverly Hills in Los Angeles as a spa manager.

2022

• In February 2022, she started proactively collecting funds in the interests of a Ukrainian organization, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the armed forces of Ukraine, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service. In particular, she sent $51.8 to Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit organization in New York, USA that provides medical kits and disaster relief to Ukraine.

2023

• In June 2023, she and van Heerden started dating.

2024

• On January 1, 2024, she and Van Heerden welcomed the new year in Turkey.
• On January 2, 2024, he went back to the U.S. while she traveled to Russia.
• On January 27, 2024, she was arrested in Yekaterinburg. After her arrest, she communicated with her Ciel Spa at the SLS Beverly Hills colleagues through letters, asking them to help her sell her belongings in Los Angeles.
• On February 7, 2024, she was detained on treason charges. On the same day, Tucker Carlson interviewed Vladimir Putin.
• On February 20, 2024, she made her first court appearance in Russia. That day, Razom for Ukraine released a statement condemning her arrest without naming her.
• On June 20, 2024, her trial started in Russia.
• On August 7, 2024, she admitted in court in Russia to donating $51.80 to a charity supporting Ukraine.
• On August 15, 2024, Judge Andrei Mineev sentenced her to 12 years in prison.

2025

• On April 10, 2025, she was released in a prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in exchange for German-Russian prisoner Arthur Petrov with mediation from the UAE.