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Russian ballet star denies ordering an acid attack

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:36:00 +0000

MOSCOW (AP) — The star dancer accused of masterminding the attack on the Bolshoi ballet chief acknowledged Thursday that he gave the go-ahead for the attack, but told a Moscow court that he did not order anyone to throw acid on the artistic director's face.

The judge, however, refused to release Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko on bail and ordered him and his two co-defendants held until at least April 18 while the investigation continued.

Ballet chief Sergei Filin's face and eyes suffered severe burns in the Jan. 17 attack, which exposed a culture of deep intrigue and infighting at the famed theater celebrated for its grand, classical ballets.

Dmitrichenko said he had complained about the ballet chief to an acquaintance, who offered to "beat him up."

"It's not true that I ordered him to throw acid at Filin," the 29-year-old dancer told the court, speaking from a cage. He said he had never intended for the attack to cause such bodily harm.

Moscow police said Thursday that Dmitrichenko had paid 50,000 rubles (about $1,600) to the man, Yuri Zarutsky, accused of throwing the jar of acid in the ballet chief's face as he returned home late at night. The third defendant, Andrei Lipatov, drove the getaway car, but said in video provided by police that he did not know the purpose of his mission.

Three men, including star dancer, confess to Bolshoi ballet director acid attack

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:47:00 +0000

Three men, Andrei Lipatov, Yuri Zarutsky and star ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, have confessed to burning Bolshoi ballet director Sergei Filin with sulfuric acid in an alleyway in January. The heinous attack left Filin nearly blind with severe burns and reverberated through the nation and beyond as it exposed deep unrest within one of Russia's most esteemed institutions.

The New York Times reports that the men have confessed to the crime, allegedly organized by Dmitrichenko. According to investigators, Dmitrichenko, the lead soloist at the ballet company, had a long-running professional grudge with the theater and a deep "dislike" for Filin. He compared the dancers' salaries to that of migrant workers, telling Private Correspondent magazine that even “migrant workers would not agree to work on a construction site for this money.”

Suspect detained in Bolshoi acid attack

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Breaking news update from the AP:

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian police say they have detained three men, including a star dancer, in the January acid attack on the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet.

Sergei Filin was left with severe burns to his eyes and face when an unidentified attacker threw a jar of sulfuric acid in his face as he was returning home late on Jan. 17. The 42-year-old former dancer is now undergoing treatment in Germany.

Interior Ministry spokesman Anatoly Lastovetsky said Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko was among those arrested on Tuesday.

The two others are the suspected perpetrator of the attack and the man suspected of driving him to and from the scene.

It was not immediately clear what role the dancer is suspected of playing in the attack.

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Moscow police have detained a suspect whom they believe may be responsible for the attack on Bolshoi ballet artistic director Sergei Filin, who was hospitalized after a man splashed acid on his face in January. The Russian Interior Ministry announced today that it is conducting “a series of urgent investigative actions," including the detention of the suspect and searching of the suspect's home.