Sergei Filin

[Lisat]

I've always assumed the difference may have been in the concentration level of the acid itself. If it was bought as a highly concentrated sulfuric acid or a simple homemade solution. The concentration level and therefore the damage it can have will differ. Though it does react with water in an exothermic reaction, to my knowledge diluting it with water is considered an appropriate method of dealing with it in an emergency situation.

[alison]

This story gets odder by the day. Now it would appear that not only is his face unblemished, but all threats of 'blindness' have disappeared from reports of the incident -  reference is now being made only to  some 'damage' in one eye. In particular I don't understand why, only a day or so after the  incident, we were shown Filin being interviewed in his hospital bed  with his face and head bandaged like the invisible man, suggesting terrible facial damage (unless of course there were precautionary reasons for bandaging his entire face).

 

When the hub-bub dies down, I think there'll be questions to be answered by all parties concerned.

 

Ann, I don't know where you get this from.  My reproduction of the photo is poor, but I'd say his face, what I can see of it, certainly looks "blemished".  (Isn't it standard treatment to put some sort of breathable fabric over burns to protect them?  I'm not up with the latest in nursing techniques).  The report says that he will probably be able to recover some limited vision and won't be blinded, and that large parts of the surface of the left eye have been reconstructed. The injuries were very severe, with deep-lying parts of both eyes affected.  No prognosis is possible for the right eye, and it looks as though long-term treatment will be necessary.

 

I don't see anything particularly suspicious in this, I must say.  It may well be that the availability of snow and his quick thinking managed to mitigate some of the damage, or, as Lisat says, the acid may have been more dilute than in the case of that woman in London (I'm not sure whether that was sulphuric acid or something else).

[Ann Williams]

Alison, apologies if I've got Filin's condition wrong, but I was unable to translate the article in the link you provided and now understand from what you say  that his eyes may be more damaged than I had thought  (for his sake, I hope not). However, even after closer inspection I still can't see any major damage to his face (slight puffiness and pinkness apart).  My major point is that at a time when it is now almost commonplace to see photographs of women whose faces have been horribly disfigured by acid attacks, this picture of Filin makes dramatic press speculation on his attack look, at the very least, seriously overstated.   

 

Can I clarify that  it will be for the best of reasons that I'll be relieved and happy if Filin makes a complete. unblemished recovery, not because any suspicions I may have will have been proved right - that would be an unwanted victory.

[Farfallina]

Updates and interviews with SF like this one from German "Spiegelonline" - the headline says "I'm not going to hide my face" and SF reports about the progress he is making, that he is in a good, fighting mood and constantly in contact with the Bolshoi where "everybody is getting ready for Neumeier's Onegin due in June".  He mentions 8 operations he already had (not clear whether 8 in total or 8 in Germany only) and further operations are ahead of him.

 

Here is the link: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/sergej-fillin-im-interview-werde-mein-gesicht-nicht-verstecken-a-885316.html

[Ian Macmillan]

It will be behind the paywall, if online, but I see that today's Times has picked up on this interview - he is certainly made to sound very upbeat about the future.

[MAB]

Interesting overview of the Moscow ballet scene in Le Monde.

 

http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/02/20/au-bolchoi-l-odeur-tetue-du-vitriol_1835467_3246.html

[Marissa]

I don't see anything odd about the story. As someone has mentioned before, I think the reason Sergei managed to escape disfigurement is because he was able to dilute the effects of the acid with snow. His face was bandaged in the beginning because he did sustain burns of some degree on his face.  The press reported that he might go blind because that's exactly what the doctors feared when they first started treating him.  Fortunately it now sounds hopeful after all the surgeries he's had that he will at least retain some sight.  But his eyes will probably never be the same and from what I've read he still faces more surgeries and months of recovery. I hope they catch the person who committed this despicable and brutal act. 

[GailR]

The Times today is saying that a suspect has been arrested and they are not from the Bolshoi theatre.

[Ian Macmillan]

I've just posted this BBC News link in today's roundup - many like it are appearing all the time now.  No sign of  a name thus far:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21666166#TWEET642880

[Farfallina]

The Indipendent writes they think they got the "thrower", but not the mind behind that cruel attack...

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russian-police-arrest-man-over-acid-attack-on-bolshoi-director-sergei-filin-8520287.html

[Farfallina]

With all due caution the name of Pawel Dimitrenko is mentioned by various newspapers as possible suspect.

 

Here is a link from RIA Novosti (in German) - similar report on Gazeta Wetscharnaja Moskwa in Russian

 

http://de.ria.ru/society/20130305/265660612.html

[MAB]

The article states that police have raided Dmitrichenko's home, so they must have evidence to make him a suspect other than that he and Filin didn't get on.  His isn't the name I was led to believe would eventually emerge.

 

On one of my trips abroad to watch the Bolshoi a few years back I was very kindly allowed to watch the daily class and among the younger dancers it was Dmitichenko who impressed me the most as a pure classicist.   Although he does get the occasional leading role, such as dancing Spartacus here in London, his career doesn't seem to have progressed the way I rather imagined it would.

[mijosh]

The Evening Standard is reporting that Dmitrichenko has been arrested.

[Marissa]

I read in one news story that it was Dmitrichenko's girlfriend who had argued with Sergei and that she was a pupil of Tsiskaridze.  That makes me wonder if she was involved or if he committed the attack for her. That's assuming he's guilty of course.   It's hard to believe that someone could do something as vicious as throwing acid in someone's face over creative or personal differences.

[jmhopton]

Classic FM news tonight said Dmitrenchko and 2 others had been arrested.  Joan

[Amelia]

Marissa, on 05 Mar 2013 - 20:17, said:

 

“...That makes me wonder if she was involved or if he committed the attack for her. That's assuming he's guilty of course.   It's hard to believe that someone could do something as vicious as throwing acid in someone's face over creative or personal differences.”

 

This is exactly what silly and cruel people sometimes do over personal differences. The Russian psychologists who were interviewed a few weeks ago also suggested that this kind of crime is usually committed over personal matters. 

I wonder whether the journalists and TV commentators who went beyond impartial reporting and were pointing fingers at a prominent dancer (making such good sales and ratings for their ‘production’) will apologise to him now. However hard it was for Tsiskaridze, hopefully, he is strong enough to withstand the heavy-handed attacks by some journalists. 

I hope we will not start debating now ‘if SHE was involved’. She is just 22. I really pray for her that her name is not sloshed by the media unnecessarily as the name of her teacher.

[Ian Macmillan]

This is the most informative link I've found as I shut down tonight - from the Guardian's Moscow correspondent.  Names the male dancer, a suspected acid thrower, and a getaway driver.  No girl mentioned.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/mar/05/bolshoi-director-acid-attack-arrest

[Marissa]

 

I wonder whether the journalists and TV commentators who went beyond impartial reporting and were pointing fingers at a prominent dancer (making such good sales and ratings for their ‘production’) will apologise to him now. However hard it was for Tsiskaridze, hopefully, he is strong enough to withstand the heavy-handed attacks by some journalists. 

 

 

I wonder if Tsiskaridze will apologize to the Bolshoi Management for accusing them of staging the acid attack in order to start a witch hunt against him and to Sergei Filin and his family for accusing them of exploiting the attack for publicity purposes.

[Farfallina]

According to various newspapers all three arrested suspects have confessed.

Here is a link to Radio Free Europe's article

 

http://www.rferl.org/content/bolshoi-acid-attack-confessions/24920625.html

[Farfallina]

Cherchez la femme !! Here comes the girl in..

At this point it can only be speculation what triggered the events, but the article on the Financial Times points out very well how the protagonists may be linked..

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec666434-857d-11e2-9ee3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2MkD2LFCb

[billboyd]

Signed confession?  After torture, perhaps?

[Sim]

Cherchez la femme !! Here comes the girl in..

At this point it can only be speculation what triggered the events, but the article on the Financial Times points out very well how the protagonists may be linked..

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec666434-857d-11e2-9ee3-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2MkD2LFCb

Unfortunately this article seems to be behind a paywall so I can't access it......

[MAB]

I read in one news story that it was Dmitrichenko's girlfriend who had argued with Sergei and that she was a pupil of Tsiskaridze.  That makes me wonder if she was involved or if he committed the attack for her. That's assuming he's guilty of course.   It's hard to believe that someone could do something as vicious as throwing acid in someone's face over creative or personal differences.

 

 

Exactly which news report was that?  A link please.

 

The fact that she is a pupil of Tsiskaridze's is neither here nor there, he is one of the most popular teachers at the Bolshoi.

[Sim]

MAB, there is a link above from Farfallina which apparently mentions the girl, but as it's behind a paywall I haven't been able to read it.  The Courtney Weaver article in the print copy of the FT today does not mention a girl.

[MAB]

Sim, I was responding to Marissa, not Farfallina.

[Ian Macmillan]

Sim:  I've just checked once again, and I can still get access to the FT article .... without having paid any subscription, so I've no idea why you're having problems.

[MAB]

Try the Guardian article - no paywall

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/mar/06/bolshoi-dancer-confesses-acid-attack

[Norman Reynolds]

Sim:  I've just checked once again, and I can still get access to the FT article .... without having paid any subscription, so I've no idea why you're having problems.

 

Don't know how you manage that, Ian, you must have a special pass.

 

In general, if you register free with the FT you can read a limited number of 'Articles' per month, I believe it is about 5. After that you have to wait until the next month. To read unlimited Articles you have to subscribe, the lowest level costs about £5.19 per week.

[alison]

I can get at it too, Sim.  It's not particularly well-written - does Ms Weaver understand what "to douse" someone with a liquid actually means?! - and there's one paragraph which appears to refer to Dmitrichenko but I would have thought, from what I've read of the case, that it should actually refer to Tsiskaridze, since I didn't think that Dmitrichenko's name had been mentioned before this.  As for the clashes in negotiations which are mentioned, presumably any union rep is expected to stick up for the dancers against the management in such matters?  Sounds like a bit of a red herring, if you ask me. 

[Ann Williams]

'The Girl' is named in the New York Times as Anzhelina Vorontsova, a Bolshoi dancer who is 'romantically linked' to Dmitrichenko.

[Ann Williams]

Have just heard on Radio 4 that there will be an interview on - I think - the 1 pm news with 'the star of the Bolshoi' linked to the acid-throwing incident.  Doesn't actually name who this is and it's probably unklikely to be Dmitrichenko himself.

[Ann Williams]

Sorry, that should be 'The World at One' which is just about to start on R4.

[Marissa]

 

It was Dmitrichenko's girlfriend who was said to be feuding with Sergei over being passed over for roles. She felt that she was being treated unfairly. That's what made me wonder if he committed the attack for her. It doesn't necessarily mean that she knew of it or was involved in any way. But both Dmitrichenko and his girlfriend are said to be Tsiskaridze supporters so it doesn't come as a surprise to me that the attack on Sergei would come from one of the factions within the Bolshoi that have been dissatisfied and openly critical of the way the company is being run.