Alayna

Dmitrichenko and Zarutsky got off pretty lightly compared to the life sentence that Filin is facing. Is there parole in Russia? I hope that they'll both at least have to serve out their full prison terms.

"....if he brought Zarutsky into the picture to rough up or intimidate Filin, then I do think he bears substantial responsibility for the more extreme violence that happened and should answer for it in some serious fashion. (I also continue to be puzzled as to why, even if one doesn't share that view, one wouldn't be plenty dismayed that he had hired someone to intimidate/harass Filin physically in any way." I totally agree with this. I don't understand how these dancers can continue to support Dmitrichenko and insist on his innocence when he admitted in his final statement to the court that he had asked Zarutsky to beat up Filin. Regardless of whether or not any of his grievances against Filin are justified, in my opinion he lost any moral high ground he might have had when he decided to resort to violence as a way of dealing with those grievances.

According to Ismene Brown, trial verdict to be declared Tuesday, December 3rd. http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/11/30_Trial_day_12__Final_statements_before_verdict.html Not surprised that there was very little media coverage of the Bolshoi dancers and teachers defending Filin in court.

"According to Ismene Brown's blog entry with commentary and a translation of an article in ITAR-TASS, noticeably not Izvetsia, senior coach Maria Kondratieva and group of dancers want to testify to rebut Tsiskaridze's characterization of Filin on behalf of themselves and other Bolshoi dancers. The group includes Obraztsova, Smirnova, Rebetskaya, Lantratov, Ovcharenko, and Medvedev" It will be interesting to see if their testimonies (assuming their request to testify is granted) will be given the same amount of press coverage in Russia as Tsiskaridze's.

Filin's father-in-law was testifying about the impact the attack had had on his family as well as his health when he spoke about being told that Filin would need lifelong treatment for his eyes. But I assume (and hope) that the prosecution plans to have some of the doctors who've been treating him testify about his medical condition.

Shaun Walker, the Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, has been covering the trial and he tweeted: "Weird thing about Bolshoi trial is that questioning more about whether Filin *deserved* to be attacked than on whether Dmitrichenko did it" Whether or not Filin is guilty of anything that Dmitrichenko has accused him of, he's already been severely punished. And it appears to be a life sentence, since his father-in-law testified that doctors told him that Filin will need treatment on his eyes for the rest of his life.

Quoted from the Guardian's report on Filin's testimony: Filin described Dmitrichenko's allegations that he slept with several ballerinas as an "absolute lie", and said the idea that "roles were handed out through my bedsheets" was nonsense. "I never had any intimate relations with any of these women. I want to repeat that I find it an insult to me and to these women because nothing of the sort ever happened." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/bolshoi-acid-attack-dancer-trial I take that to mean that he denies sleeping with ballerinas - period. Not that he might have been sleeping with them but just didn't promote them because of it. What purpose did that line of questioning serve? Even if Dmitrichenko can prove that everything he accuses Filin of is true, is that supposed to justify the acid attack? Who's the one on trial here - Dmitrichenko or Filin?

I guess it's harder for Filin to feel forgiveness after suffering many months of hospitalization and surgeries in Germany, all the while having his name dragged through the mud by his alleged attackers. Not to mention the toll it's taken on his family.

So much for Dmitrichenko's expressions of remorse. Interesting how he keeps coming up with new mud to sling on Filin in his desperate attempt to justify a crime he claims he's innocent of. I'm sure attacking the victim in his opening statement will really help his case. <insert sarcasm>

Wonderful news and a long time coming after so many months of him fighting to regain his health and get back to the job he loves.

Sergei Filin has left the building! (And gone to London.) http://www.france24.com/en/20130812-bolshoi-acid-attack-victim-london-ballet-tour-report

I wouldn't have expected Pronin to be suspicious of Dmitrichenko's request to find out where Filin was going to be that night. But LATER, after the attack and Dmitrichenko's arrest for it, I wonder if the possibility that Dmitrichenko's request for Filin's schedule on that particular night might mean he was involved ever crossed Pronin's mind.

I would have thought that Dmitrichenko asking Pronin about Filin's whereabouts on the night of the attack might have raised some doubts in Pronin's mind about Dmitrichenko's innocence. But I guess not given Pronin's show of support for him after his arrest.

There's also news footage of Dmitrichenko showing police how he followed Filin before the attack. And he had Ruslan Pronin ask Filin where he was going to be the night of the attack.

It's very noble of Zarutsky to take full responsibility for the attack on Filin. I'm sure it has nothing to do with him getting a lesser sentence if he's convicted of acting alone instead of being part of a conspiracy.