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Bolshoi Theatre ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko performs in "Ivan The Terrible." Police said Tuesday that his home had been searched.
MOSCOW - Russian police searched the home of one of the Bolshoi Ballet's top dancers on Tuesday over an acid attack that nearly blinded the troupe's artistic director, and detained a man suspected of carrying it out.
The coordinated police action was the first sign of progress toward solving a crime that left Sergei Filin, 42, with severe burns after a masked attacker threw a jar of sulfuric acid in his face outside his apartment on Jan. 17.
The attack has shocked a country used to violent settling of scores and put the spotlight on infighting at one its top cultural institutions. The involvement of any of the artistes would deepen the sense of crisis at the Bolshoi.
Police said the Moscow home of Pavel Dmitrichenko, a Bolshoi soloist who has been performing the lead role in Sergei Prokofiev's Ivan The Terrible, had been searched but did not say whether the search indicated he was being treated as a suspect.
It also said an unnamed suspect had been detained in the suburbs of the capital early on Monday and taken in for questioning. Police sources told Russian media that the man was suspected of throwing the acid at Filin.
"This is good news for us," Katerina Novikova, the Bolshoi Theatre's spokeswoman, said of the suspect's detention.
"The Bolshoi Theatre hopes that this detention today shows that this crime will be solved because it is very important for us all and we are really hopeful that the mastermind as well as the perpetrator of this crime will be identified."
But she looked irritated and became defensive when addressing the possibility of divisions in the troupe, saying: "I think the Bolshoi Theatre troupe is waiting for Sergei's return, and loves him and wishes him a speedy recovery."
Bolshoi Ballet's artistic director, Sergei Filin, recalls the "unbearable pain" from January's acid attack as he leaves a Moscow hospital for treatment in Germany. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
She said she did not know the reason for the search of Dmitrichenko's apartment and did not know of any dispute between him and Filin.
Filin was left writhing in agony in the snow for about 20 minutes after the attack. As artistic director of the theater's ballet company, he had the power to make or break careers in the fiercely competitive world of ballet.
He said before heading to Germany last month for treatment that is expected to save his sight that he believed he knew who was behind the attack and hinted it might be connected to his work, but refused to give a name.
Dmitrichenko could not immediately be reached for comment. He has been with the troupe since 2002.
A masked man threw acid in the face of Sergei Filin, who has been the director of Russia's legendary Bolshoi Ballet company since 2011, last Thursday night, leaving Filin with third-degree burns to his face. Bolshoi insiders say jealousy over roles could be a factor in the attack. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
The theater has been no stranger to intrigue since it was built under Empress Catherine the Great in 1776 and the ballet troupe has gone through five artistic directors since 1995.
In 2003, Bolshoi bosses were heavily criticized for trying to fire ballerina Anastasia Volochkova for being too heavy. In 2011, deputy ballet director Gennady Yanin, then seen as a candidate for the artistic director post, quit after pornographic images of him appeared on the Internet.
The theater, near Moscow's Red Square, reopened to great fanfare in 2011 after a six-year, $700-million renovation that restored its tsarist opulence but was criticized for going far over budget.
It has frequently been under fire over its artistic program since then.
Leading Russian cultural figures wrote to President Vladimir Putin last November calling for the dismissal of the Bolshoi's general manager, Anatoly Iksanov. Among his critics are veteran dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who challenged him for his job.
The Bolshoi dismissed the criticism, saying it failed to take into account the troupe's latest performances.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Why not just punch the guy in the face? Acid? Now if caught you will go to jail. A knuckle sandwich to the nose, everyone moves on and you still proved whatever point you had, maybe...
Acid is for dancers. Bats are for figure skaters.
You never watched "Phantom of the Opera"? He didn't get that face from a punch in the noe....
Good one Denver Bill. Funny.
Death by Flamenco dancer is the worst - plain bob must have a video somewhere.
Another drunk Hispanic - I won't drive in Tucson during Happy Hour or at closing time, I've seen way too many wandering cars in this State. Good thing booze is safe and legal - he would have thought everyone was Bigfoot, out to get him, if he had been on the wacky weed. (there can I get some of that weed that makes you see creatures?)
Tucson has crosses all over the road-side where Hispanics/Latinos have marked where a loved one lost their life - yet they run from their own actions - double standard. One thing I noticed in my 13 years with a Hispanic woman; they never step up and admit anything - it isn't just the gang bangers who live this kind of culture, it starts from the top. I'm glad I got to experience another culture - but it also made me grateful for the Swedish culture of my own family - balance in your actions and emotions are a blessing.
Hey bartender - one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer.
i did my best to notice when the call came down the vine...are we human or are we dancer...be careful on the road... one bud one bong one bitch'n buzz...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0XCS5fewJ4
what a coward...hope he rots in jail for the rest of his life.
cory, I think the point of the acid is disfigurement in a world based heavily on perfection of body, mind and performance. Merely breaking a nose would not leave the mark that an acid attack will. Having said that, I certainly do not condone either, I am just offering up some speculation.
That's why Muslims throw acid on females.
And in the US, some men just kill women when spurned.
The masked acid attack is among the most cowardly and despicable actions any slighted person can carry out. I'm always appalled by these stories. I believe India has had many such attacks, mostly carried out upon women who spurn a marriage proposal.
100% agreed.
The strangest story I've heard recently was of (New Yorkers) Burt Pugach and Linda Eleanor Riss, back in '59. He served 14 years for the attack, and she actually married him when he was released! (Was in the news recently because Linda died a few weeks ago). They co-wrote a book: A Very Different Love Story.
This takes Artistic differences to an entire new level, there is so much jealousy in ballet. It is so cut throat, I hope the Director can return and continue creating those magic performances. Wishing Sergi a speedy recovery... To the coward that did this, I wish they would do the same to you! But I guess Prison will have to do.
So much culture, so much violence.
right where as we have zero culture and 10 times the violence.
Ain't no fight as dirty as a cat fight...
General Zod is an evil dancer
I cannot imagine doing that to another human being. May he rot in prison! Cannot imagine Russian prison offers the same amenities as its American counterpart.
Maybe the rat b@stard deserved it. Maybe his unquestioned power was being abused to extremes. Either way physical harm is not the answer and the attacker should be punished.
These type attacks are beyond cowardice. Sadly most of the women that are attacked don't know they need to run water over the wound to flush the acid. This would help them immensely.
Bad guy on the stage, Bad guy in real life.
Acid attacks have been imported from the third world. Just like honor killings. They should bring the death penalty because acid attacks destroy the victim's life. What a scumbag bunch of men who commit these atrocities, all because these slimy, smarmy men can't get a woman.
all these theatre people are bi polar, manic depressive, semi-schizophrenic mental cases. emotionally confused, sexually confused, mentally confused, alcoholic or drug addicted..... just @!$%#ed up in general. this is why you turn off the mic when they start talking politics and social issues during their award acceptance speeches.
hopefully you will never be given a mic.
filthyfilthy - You must be very special. Not! LOL! Only very insecure people tear other people down like you did. Do something productive with your life and you won't hate yourself so much.
.....reads like a great movie script...........
this is great,ballet,opera,dancers,jealous artists,cops,intrigue,centuries old house and troupe. Ivan the terrible, throwing acid. And meanwhile over here we have Bieber and Lohan.
Stupid, sick people in this world!
Sick People im telling ya
This is why they should ban gays...Too violent when they don't get their way..J/K...Fags...
I knew these comments would be entertaining! but sad that this had to happen.
DAMN...now there's a pfhhagg-ett on steroids. Why didn't he just hit Sergei-boi with his handbag and leave it at that? Homos get sooo angry.
What else could they do, their too prissy to fight with their fists
and the usa thought tonya harding was bad
I read the article a few times, yet I still didn't see how long this jag~0ff will serve for doing this to Mr. Filin!!! >:-(
I wonder if this had anything to do with the young American dancer getting some of the top rolls instead of Russian ballerinas?