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| Russia Detains Dancer in Bolshoi Acid Attack | Russia Detains Dancer in Bolshoi Acid Attack |
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| MOSCOW — Police officials in Moscow on Tuesday detained a dancer at the Bolshoi Ballet in connection with an acid attack in January on the company’s artistic director, Sergei Filin — a crime that gripped Moscow and threatened to haunt one of Russia’s most revered institutions. | |
| The announcement came after a burst of progress in the investigation that began early on Tuesday morning. Before dawn, the police also raided the homes of two suspected accomplices, both near a complex of summer cottages outside Moscow used by Bolshoi personnel. By evening, both suspected accomplices had been detained. | |
| The dancer, Pavel Dmitrichenko, has been at the ballet since 2002.. Witnesses said he led the police to his apartment in Moscow early in the morning, and left with them after about 30 minutes.An official at Russia’s Investigative Committee told the Interfax news agency that investigators believe Mr. Dmitrichenko ordered the attack. The man believed to have thrown the acid at Mr. Filin was identified as Yuri Zarutsky. The third man detained, said to have driven Mr. Zarutsky to the scene of the attack, was named as Andrei Lipatov. All three have been detained for 48 hours. | |
| Mr. Filin suffered burns to his face and eyes when someone in a mask approached him outside his apartment near midnight on Jan. 17 and flung a jar containing sulfuric acid at him. He has undergone a series of operations in hopes of preserving his eyesightand is receiving further treatment at a clinic in Germany. | |
| Mr. Dmitrichenko has never been discussed as a potential suspect, despite a deluge of commentary on behind-the-scenes power struggles at the ballet company. Katerina Novikova, the theater’s spokeswoman, said that she was not aware of any particular animosity between Mr. Dmitrichenko and Mr. Filin. | |
| “In addition, I want to say that it doesn’t matter how sharp is the conflict between people — it doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “I think investigators should work and find proof. I would love to hope that the person standing behind this is outside the Bolshoi.” | |
| Another dancer, Nikolai Tsiskaridze — who has himself come under scrutiny because of his feud with Bolshoi management — said the two men had come in conflict over grants paid to dancers. He said Mr. Dmitrichenko served on the company’s commission on grants, and felt that Mr. Filin played favorites. “They clashed openly about money,” Mr. Tsiskaridze said. “Everyone knew it.” | |
| Mr. Tsiskaridze said Mr. Dmitrichenko was in a romantic relationship with a protégée and student of his, the dancer Anzhelina Vorontsova. Ms. Vorontsova’s supporters say Mr. Filin has unfairly denied her starring roles because of feuding at the theater, something theater officials deny. | |
| “I am really sorry for everyone,” Mr. Tsiskaridze said, after news of the detentions was public. He described Mr. Dmitrichenko as “a volatile person -- he might throw a punch. But I don’t think he is capable of this.” He said he had not spoken to Ms. Vorontsova because she was dancing on Tuesday night, in the Balanchine ballet “Jewels.” | |
| In a theater often torn between presenting modern repertoire and adhering to its classical roots, Mr. Dmitrichenko has gone on record as a passionate advocate of the second. He was so upset over a ballet writer’s criticism about Yuri Grigorovich – the Soviet-era choreographer who led the company for three decades – that he posted a tirade on the web site of her newspaper, Kommersant. | In a theater often torn between presenting modern repertoire and adhering to its classical roots, Mr. Dmitrichenko has gone on record as a passionate advocate of the second. He was so upset over a ballet writer’s criticism about Yuri Grigorovich – the Soviet-era choreographer who led the company for three decades – that he posted a tirade on the web site of her newspaper, Kommersant. |
| “Alas, Tatyana, in the professional ballet world your fate is well-known, and all informed fans, viewers and especially artists laugh at your writings, because they display nothing but malice toward Grigorovich,” he wrote, according to text that was published on ballet forums. “Grigorovich is a recognized genius in the whole world, and when you write poorly about him, you simply disgrace the newspaper which publishes your words.” | “Alas, Tatyana, in the professional ballet world your fate is well-known, and all informed fans, viewers and especially artists laugh at your writings, because they display nothing but malice toward Grigorovich,” he wrote, according to text that was published on ballet forums. “Grigorovich is a recognized genius in the whole world, and when you write poorly about him, you simply disgrace the newspaper which publishes your words.” |
| At the time of the attack, Mr. Filin and Bolshoi officials said right away that they believed it was motivated by a professional grudge. When the raids were announced on Tuesday morning, Ms. Novikova said she hoped the police would be led to the crime’s mastermind. She noted that Mr. Filin had been harassed for weeks leading up to the attack, with barrages of calls to his cellphone and hackers breaking into his personal e-mail. | At the time of the attack, Mr. Filin and Bolshoi officials said right away that they believed it was motivated by a professional grudge. When the raids were announced on Tuesday morning, Ms. Novikova said she hoped the police would be led to the crime’s mastermind. She noted that Mr. Filin had been harassed for weeks leading up to the attack, with barrages of calls to his cellphone and hackers breaking into his personal e-mail. |
| “I am hopeful, because I know that the investigators have worked long and hard, and I am very glad that someone has been arrested,” she told Ekho Moskvy, a radio station. “I hope this is the right path, and the crime will be entirely solved, because it is important to know everyone who stands behind this: behind the attack on the Internet, the telephone calls, and above all the act of vandalism which was carried out on the 17th of January against Sergei Filin.” | “I am hopeful, because I know that the investigators have worked long and hard, and I am very glad that someone has been arrested,” she told Ekho Moskvy, a radio station. “I hope this is the right path, and the crime will be entirely solved, because it is important to know everyone who stands behind this: behind the attack on the Internet, the telephone calls, and above all the act of vandalism which was carried out on the 17th of January against Sergei Filin.” |
| Vesti, a Russian news channel, reported that the police had tracked the suspect down by checking the records of mobile telephone calls that were placed from the area around the attack. | Vesti, a Russian news channel, reported that the police had tracked the suspect down by checking the records of mobile telephone calls that were placed from the area around the attack. |
Sophia Kishkovsky contributed reporting. | Sophia Kishkovsky contributed reporting. |