Moscow: Russian police said on Tuesday they arrested three men in the acid attack that nearly blinded the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet, including a star dancer suspected of masterminding the plot.
Sergei Filin was left with severe burns to his eyes and face when a masked attacker threw a jar of sulfuric acid in his face as he returned home late on January 17. The 42-year-old former dancer is now undergoing treatment in Germany.
Interior Ministry spokesman Anatoly Lastovetsky said Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko is suspected of planning the attack.
Police also arrested the suspected perpetrator of the attack and the man believed to have driven him to and from the scene, the spokesman said.
It was unclear whether either man had any connection to the famed ballet company.
Dmitrichenko, who joined the Bolshoi in 2002, has danced several major parts in recent years, including Ivan the Terrible in the ballet of the same name.
Bolshoi Theater spokeswoman Katerina Novikova said management was not aware of a conflict between him and Filin. Channel One state television reported that Dmitrichenko`s girlfriend, however, also a Bolshoi soloist, was known to have been at odds with Filin.
The Bolshoi Theater is one of Russia`s premier cultural institutions, best known for "Swan Lake" and the other grand classical ballets that grace its stage. But backstage, the ballet company has been troubled by deep intrigue and infighting that have led to the departure of several artistic directors over the past few years.
Filin`s colleagues have said the attack could be in retaliation for his selection of certain dancers over others for prized roles. Filin told state television before he checked out of a Moscow hospital that he knew who ordered the attack but would not name the person.
The Interior Ministry said the alleged perpetrator, 35-year-old Yury Zarutsky, was arrested in the Tver region north of Moscow. Earlier in the day, police had detained and questioned the suspected accomplice, whom the spokesman identified as Andrei Lipatov. No other details were provided.
PTI
