Pictured: Russian Bolshoi director who could lose his sight after acid attack in ‘ballet civil war’
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | January 18, 2013 23:32
Doctors are fighting to save the sight of the artistic director of Russia’s illustrious Bolshoi Ballet after an acid attack on a Moscow street.
Sergei Filin, a 42-year-old former Bolshoi star, said a man threw the acid into his face late on Thursday evening near the gate of his apartment building.
The attacker wore a hood and either a mask or a scarf, so only his eyes were visible, he said.
Bolshoi spokeswoman Yekaterina Novikova told Channel One that Filin had received threats before and that they suspect that that he fell victim to the notorious infighting and rows between different groups of dancers and managers at the theatre.
‘We never imagined that a war for roles – not for real estate or for oil – could reach this level of crime,’ she said.
The theatre in the heart of Moscow is an enduring symbol of Russian culture and a big draw for both locals and foreign tourists, but has seen power struggles among both dancers and directors during its more than 200-year history.
Filin, a Moscow native, joined the Bolshoi’s ballet troupe in 1988 and was named its artistic leader in March 2011, after three years in a similar position at another Moscow theatre.
There was ‘fierce rivalry’ for the Bolshoi position at the time, according to RIA Novosti.
Ekho Moskvy radio said Filin suffered third-degree burns and that doctors believed it would take him at least six months to recover.
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