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| Bolshoi Dancer Found Guilty of Ordering Acid Attack | Bolshoi Dancer Found Guilty of Ordering Acid Attack |
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| MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Tuesday found Pavel V. Dmitrichenko, the former Bolshoi Theater soloist, guilty of ordering an acid attack in January that nearly blinded the theater’s artistic director, Sergei Filin, in what some have called the worst scandal in the Bolshoi’s history. | MOSCOW — A Moscow court on Tuesday found Pavel V. Dmitrichenko, the former Bolshoi Theater soloist, guilty of ordering an acid attack in January that nearly blinded the theater’s artistic director, Sergei Filin, in what some have called the worst scandal in the Bolshoi’s history. |
| Prosecutors have requested a sentence of nine years in a penal colony for Mr. Dmitrichenko, whom they said was motivated by revenge for Mr. Filin’s denial of key roles to Mr. Dmitrichenko and his common-law wife, Anzhelina Vorontsova. | Prosecutors have requested a sentence of nine years in a penal colony for Mr. Dmitrichenko, whom they said was motivated by revenge for Mr. Filin’s denial of key roles to Mr. Dmitrichenko and his common-law wife, Anzhelina Vorontsova. |
| Yuri Zarutsky, the man that Mr. Dmitrichenko admitted to asking to hit Mr. Filin “on the nose,” and whom prosecutors said was paid to concoct and use a homemade acid against Mr. Filin, was also found guilty of conspiracy to cause bodily harm and faces up to 12 years in prison. | Yuri Zarutsky, the man that Mr. Dmitrichenko admitted to asking to hit Mr. Filin “on the nose,” and whom prosecutors said was paid to concoct and use a homemade acid against Mr. Filin, was also found guilty of conspiracy to cause bodily harm and faces up to 12 years in prison. |
| Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of six years for a getaway driver, Andrei Lipatov, who was also found guilty on Tuesday. | |
| The case has transposed toxic rivalries often hidden backstage at the Bolshoi Theater to the witness stand, where poised ballerinas and ballet dancers from Mr. Filin’s and Mr. Dmitrichenko’s camps have squared off. | The case has transposed toxic rivalries often hidden backstage at the Bolshoi Theater to the witness stand, where poised ballerinas and ballet dancers from Mr. Filin’s and Mr. Dmitrichenko’s camps have squared off. |
| Supporters of Mr. Filin have attempted to present Mr. Dmitrichenko as vindictive and overly dramatic. Mr. Dmitrichenko’s supporters, among them Nikolai Tsiskaridze, a fiery Georgian principal dancer and teacher who has regularly clashed with the Bolshoi’s leadership, have called Mr. Filin “a tyrant” who was romantically involved with dancers in the troupe. | Supporters of Mr. Filin have attempted to present Mr. Dmitrichenko as vindictive and overly dramatic. Mr. Dmitrichenko’s supporters, among them Nikolai Tsiskaridze, a fiery Georgian principal dancer and teacher who has regularly clashed with the Bolshoi’s leadership, have called Mr. Filin “a tyrant” who was romantically involved with dancers in the troupe. |
| During the trial, Mr. Dmitrichenko has seemed hardly to step off the Bolshoi stage, where he was best known for playing villains like Ivan the Terrible, as he has stood, seemingly bemused, behind the metal bars of the defendant’s cage in court. | During the trial, Mr. Dmitrichenko has seemed hardly to step off the Bolshoi stage, where he was best known for playing villains like Ivan the Terrible, as he has stood, seemingly bemused, behind the metal bars of the defendant’s cage in court. |
| As the guilty verdict was read on Tuesday, he nodded, looked down, and then licked his lips nervously. The sentences will be read out later. | |
| Artem Ovcharenko, a principal at the Bolshoi who testified as a prosecution witness, said that Mr. Dmitrichenko had “his own sense of justice.” | |
| “Pavel is emotional,” Mr. Ovcharenko testified. “You can’t not be emotional and dance the type of ballets he danced.” | “Pavel is emotional,” Mr. Ovcharenko testified. “You can’t not be emotional and dance the type of ballets he danced.” |
| The case has sent shock waves through the Bolshoi; Mr. Tsiskaridze and Ms. Vorontsova have both left the theater for new posts in St. Petersburg, and the theater’s director, Gennady Iksanov, was also replaced after the attack. | The case has sent shock waves through the Bolshoi; Mr. Tsiskaridze and Ms. Vorontsova have both left the theater for new posts in St. Petersburg, and the theater’s director, Gennady Iksanov, was also replaced after the attack. |
| In advance of the ruling, the Izvestia newspaper published an open letter from Mr. Dmitrichenko’s supporters in the Bolshoi, which argued that the prosecution had not presented conclusive evidence of Mr. Dmitrichenko’s guilt and that he should be acquitted. | In advance of the ruling, the Izvestia newspaper published an open letter from Mr. Dmitrichenko’s supporters in the Bolshoi, which argued that the prosecution had not presented conclusive evidence of Mr. Dmitrichenko’s guilt and that he should be acquitted. |
| The letter asked the court to examine all the elements of the case, “because it’s impossible not to take into account the extremely complicated and painful situation in the ballet of the Bolshoi Theater, which, unfortunately, is no longer a secret to anyone.” | The letter asked the court to examine all the elements of the case, “because it’s impossible not to take into account the extremely complicated and painful situation in the ballet of the Bolshoi Theater, which, unfortunately, is no longer a secret to anyone.” |
Patrick Reevell contributed reporting | Patrick Reevell contributed reporting |