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Russia Interior Ministry Press Service handout, via Reuters
Pavel Dmitrichenko, seen after his arrest, left, and performing as Ivan the Terrible, right, suggested he had not meant for the attack to go so far.
MOSCOW - A dancer at Russia's Bolshoi ballet who made his name playing villains has confessed to ordering the acid attack that nearly blinded its director. Sources said he was angry that his lover was being kept out of leading roles.
Pavel Dmitrichenko, who has danced the crazed monarch in Ivan the Terrible and the villain in Swan Lake, was detained on Tuesday over a crime that shocked Russia and blackened the reputation of the world-famous theater.
Haggard and unkempt, Dmitrichenko was shown in a police video confessing to plotting the attack, in which a masked man threw a jar of sulphuric acid in the face of artistic director Sergei Filin late on Jan. 17.
"I organized this attack, but not to the extent that it happened," he said, apparently meaning he did not intend the attack go so far.
Russian police say that 29-year-old Pavel Dmitrichenko, a star dancer with the renowned Bolshoi Ballet, has admitted masterminding the January acid attack on the ballet's artistic director, who suffered severe burns to his hands and face.
Two other men who had no known connection to the Bolshoi also confessed in the video released by police. One said he had thrown the acid at Filin and the other that he had driven the getaway car.
LifeNews, a Russian website with close ties to the police, said the suspected attacker, Yury Zarutsky, and his driver Andrei Lipatov were found by tracking cellphone calls made from the crime scene.
Dmitrichenko, who is in his late 20s, said he had given the reasons for the attack in a written statement to police but did not say what they were on camera.
A source at the Bolshoi confirmed media reports that the outspoken dancer was angry that his partner, ballerina Anzhelika Vorontsova, had missed out on top roles including the lead in Swan Lake.
"Filin certainly squeezed out Vorontsova, but that is not a reason to throw acid in someone's face," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Russia Interior Ministry Press Service handout, via Reuters
Andrei Lipatov, left, allegedly drove the getaway car and Yury Zarutsky, right, is accused of carrying out the attack.
Before flying to Germany for treatment last month to save his sight, Filin, 42, said he believed he knew who was behind the attack and that he thought it was connected with his work. He is recovering and is expected back at work this summer.
The management of the Bolshoi, which declined to make any comment Wednesday, had been hoping none of the ballet company was involved in the attack as this might limit damage to its reputation and morale.
Dmitrichenko, born in Moscow to a family of dancers, had been at the Bolshoi since 2002 and was to dance in "Sleeping Beauty" this month. He could face jail and the end of his dance career.
As artistic director of the Bolshoi's ballet company, Filin had the power to make or break careers in the fiercely competitive world of ballet. Tales of his uncompromising grip on the troupe and his disagreements with dancers have been widely reported in the Russian press.
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.
Related:
Bolshoi director describes 'unbearable' pain of acid attack
Russia Bolshoi Ballet acid victim: I forgive my attacker
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Will he "Pirouette" down the passageways of the cellblock & out to the excercise yard?
"Filin certainly squeezed out Vorontsova, but that is not a reason to throw acid in someone's face," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity."
Didn't realize this is such a controversial statement that one needs to remain anonymous. OK, I'll say it and bear the consequences for being outspoken: Filin certainly squeezed out Vorontsova, but that is not a reason to throw acid in someone's face," the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
<watching my back>
Every single person who gets busted for their crime always says the exact same thing. If I only had a dime for every time a criminal says..............................blah, blah, blah....
What did he want his buddy to do? "pretend" to throw acid in his face. To what extent didn't he want it to go?! Freakin' idiots....
Now, if they didn't get caught, they'd keep their mouths shut.
Zheng He....LMAO
Good luck in prison- Russian style. No country club accomodations there like we have in the US.
It certainly didn't take very long for the Russian police to "squeeze" the confessions out of these characters. I guess they just used their usual methods of interrogation to loosen the lips of the perpetrators and "voila!" a complete confession. In the USA they would still be talking to their lawyers.
Seems like this would be a certainty, given his confession. I can't imagine any other ballet companies seeking him out, no matter how talented he is.
@Creek Dog
Yes, it looks like he had both a dog in the fight and fight in the dog. Probably not going to be walking Vorontsova's dog on vacation at the Black Sea anymore.
Probably a big loss not only for her but for the Bolshoi. Check out the film "Black Swan" for a glimpse at the atmosphere of a major ballet company. This fits right in.
Morons.
Whatever happened to old fashioned kneecap and arm breaking? Anyone can do an acid attack. Paid thugs don't want to put in the effort anymore?
My sympathies to the victim. I cannot speak on Filin's influence and business dealings with the ballet, but I do not think that a person should be physically attacked for such behavior.
Agreed! They should've hired Tanya Harding to organize this. ;p
Dang, if they aren't good enough instead of practice to get better, he pulls a stupid trick like throwing acid on someone. He needsto be jailed for life.
What the hell is going on?
He's "Ivan the Terrible," he couldn't just say, "Please, let my girlfriend dance." He had to do something "terrible." Throwing acid in someone's face, that's role playing and getting into character.
I'm finding it really, really hard to believe he had a "girlfriend".
Was it a girl? Just said his "lover" - especially for dancers, that can be either side of the street.
Keep reading. It says she is a ballerina.
A ballerina w a 12 inch pin!!! Yeah, I'm sure he's heterosexual!!!
youwish before you presume anything based on your obvious predisposed way of being raised, do some research, it is a She
Probable a Lois McGiver style ballerina with a motorcycle and a dragon tattoo.
I wonder if it was worth it for the guy that actually threw the acid in the directors face. How much do Russians pay for something like this?
Uncle Ben: Fresh loaf of bread and a bag of oranges.
And, how long do you think that will last him in prison? So, not really worth it.
These criminals deserve the same treatment as the victim.
You beat me to it! Acid in the face - then let's see how their stage career goes (not too many openings for the phantom in the "Phantom of the Opera". Might be a fate worse than death or jail.
What's the Russian word for finished? Cause that's him....
"He could face jail and the end of his dance career."
One would hope.
Russian for finished....kaputski.
A ballet dancer in a Siberian prison camp? There's a one-episode reality show.
There's a funny comment!
Good god but that's one unattractive man.
like men care what someone looks like, male or female..they'll sleep with anything..that's why they had to make a law against men sleeping with non human animals..too many farmers in the ole' days losing too many cattle to rape
What a rump romper!
He didn't want the attack to go this far....what did he want...the acid thrown on his shoes only...
If the director is Gay...is this a hate crime?
Who knew ballet was such a contact sport?
Why does everyone feel the need to say they forgive their attackers? I won't judge you if you don't forgive.
Hold him down and throw acid in his face. Looks like his victim got lucky compared to other victims of this type of crime. People have lost their morals these days and they are more cruel in their crimes against others.
Looks like the US is not the only place with idiots!!
Anzhelika Vorontsova is a girl yet NBC only refers to her as his lover and as his partner. So we are to suspect he is gay? NBC are hacks.
Russian men by reputation are bulling, revengeful and brutish...
Wow. I had no idea that ballet was such a violent profession.