Bolshoi Acid Attack

In mid-January, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, one of Russia’s leading cultural institutions, became the set for a gruesome whodunit, after a masked assailant splashed sulphuric acid into the face of Artistic Director Sergei Filin near his home.

Filin, a charismatic innovator and former Bolshoi star principal dancer, has been the Bolshoi ballet’s artistic director since 2011. In the weeks since the attack, Filin has undergone back-to-back surgeries to repair the damage; doctors are unsure whether the director’s eyesight can be saved.

Filin had a clear mandate from both the theater and the government to modernize the staid institution. Since the attack, Russian media have been frantically speculating who might have ordered such an assault. At a press briefing after Filin was rushed to the hospital, General Director Anatoly Iksanov pledged that the culprit – “a monster” – would be found. Cameras zoomed in on the usually poised Bolshoi ballerinas, who were weeping and trembling from shock.

Those with inside knowledge of the theater’s workings said that complex power dynamics within the Bolshoi’s huge dancing troupe have always led to rivalries. Cruel pranks – like spiking pointe shoes with crushed glass or sending threatening letters – have plagued the Bolshoi since Soviet times, and antagonisms stemming from competition for choice roles occasionally boil to the surface and wind up making headlines.

Investigators grilled dancers and other staff, even employing lie detectors. At press time, no suspect had been officially named, despite the fact that several government officials deemed the attack a high priority case that affects Russia’s international prestige.

After more than two weeks in a Russian hospital, Filin was flown to Germany for further plastic surgery, escorted to the airport by security guards. Just before his departure, Filin said that “in his heart” he knows who did it and linked the attack to the case of former Bolshoi Ballet Director Gennady Yanin, who left the theater in disgrace after a smear campaign published photos of him apparently engaged in sex with another man.

Filin had reportedly received threats and had his tires punctured before the acid attack. Furthermore, in an attempt to discredit him, some of his personal emails were published and a fake Facebook page briefly circulated an appeal accusing Iksanov of being in league with the theater’s despised ticket scalpers.

In an interview with Rossiya TV channel prior to his departure for Germany, Filin said the attackers were attempting to collect “kompromat” [compromising material] on him, but found so little that they had to turn to more brutal methods to force him out of his job.

“My least concern is how I will look. All of my inner energy is directed at recovering as quickly as possible, at regaining my eyesight,” the ruddy-faced Filin said, his eyes only half-opened and his head still wrapped in medical gauze.

“This is an attack on the Bolshoi Theater and on Russian culture as a whole... There have been periods of more serious criminal activity, but there has never been anything like this.”

Deputy Culture Minister Andrei Busygin,
on the attack against Sergei Filin. (Interfax)