MOSCOW — Russian police on Wednesday began to outline the plot that resulted in an acid attack against Sergei Filin, artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, a story of temperamental artists, professional jealousy and possibly a woman scorned.
Pavel Dmitrichenko, a 29-year-old Bolshoi star who was detained Tuesday, confessed Wednesday, Moscow police said.
"I organized this attack," Dmitrichenko said in a video shown on Russia 24 state television. He said he had not intended for his scheme to go as far as it had.
Two other characters in the drama were also shown: Yuri Zarutsky, 35, an unemployed man with a criminal record who admitted throwing the acid, and Andrei Lipatov, 31, a driver who said he didn't know the reason for the trip.
Police said the motive was a theater-related grudge, but state television reporters offered a more detailed emotional arc. Before Filin became the Bolshoi artistic director two years ago, he was ballet director at a smaller theater. There, he tried to hire a young ballerina named Anzhelina Vorontsova, who turned him down to dance at the Bolshoi.
When Filin joined the Bolshoi, he did not promote Vorontsova, according to the television report. Dmitrichenko was reportedly romantically involved with Vorontsova.
Filin, 42, was attacked near his home Jan. 17, his face burned and his eyes seriously damaged. He had a series of eye operations in Moscow before going to Germany for further treatment. The state of his vision has not been revealed.
If convicted, the three men face up to 12 years in jail.
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