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Sergei Filin Attacked


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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.

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If he was one of the many who didn't believe Dmitrichenko had anything to do with it and had a false confession beaten out of him by the police, Pronin would have no reason to believe he was involved, however unknowingly or tangentially.

It's also not as if he had secret information, and he was the only one from whom Dmitrichenko could have gotten it, had Pronin told him "I don't know."

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I think there are several big differences: I haven't seen anything before where Dmitrichenko has been contrite -- he told a judge that he had nothing for which to apologize, since he had not agreed specifically to the acid attack -- and offered to assume financial responsibility for the outcome. (He also claimed earlier to have wanted the entire idea to have been forgotten, but then actively participated in the stakeout, which may have kept him from retribution by Zarutsky, involving a friend without the friend's knowledge of what he was up to, which was cowardly and selfish.) His attitude at any point in time may have been due to his first lawyer's strategy, because I don't see anywhere until now that he blamed her, or it may be his new lawyer's strategy, all of which is to expected when legal teams change. (His original attorney got to add another high-profile client to her list, with the subsequent publicity.) Last he claims never to have had any hostility towards Filin, which is still laughable, considering he involved a thug and killer in a different kind of attack, but I would not be surprised if he believes this, because by also accounts from the dancers who've defended him, that he blows up and all is forgotten.

At the very least Dimitrichenko seems to be getting better advice than he was before; I admit I feel sort of relieved to see this kind of language coming from his 'camp.'

(Obviously, at this stage, I don't believe his confession--however obtained--was just some hysterical fiction concocted by police.)

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I was surprised to read the following --

"But in a society where 30 per cent of Muscovites thought that the acid-in-the-face attack on Sergey Filin ordered by a Bolshoi enemy was a legitimate punishment for a rival" . . . .

From:

Opinion: When artists could speak out: Pressure mounts on Russian musicians who supported Putin campaign to repudiate anti-gay laws

by David Nice, The Arts Desk, 12 August 2013

http://www.theartsdesk.com/classical-music/opinion-when-artists-could-speak-out

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The Russian service of Radio Liberty has published a blog post by Pavel Dmitrichenko, in which he continues to protest his innocence. Perhaps there will be more "letters from prison" forthcoming.

There is absolutely no personal conflict in my case. Unfortunately, I cannot write a great deal about the details of the case and about the situation as a whole since the investigation is ongoing, and it poses a danger to my friends and parents. Thank god, my wife Anzhelina Vorontsova is now out of danger. After numerous threats from the leadership of ballet, she was forced in the interest of her safety to leave the theater.

In order to understand what is going on at the Bolshoi Theater as a whole, it is necessary to lay out a timeline of events, to find the starting point from which everything began. It is necessary to turn attentions to the time when the problems began within the ballet. The departure of Bolshoi stars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, two distinguished male principals–Andrei Uvarov and Dmitry Belogolovtsev–resigned, Tsiskaridze was driven out with every kind of reprimand. And the last, catastrophic act of the ballet leadership–the removal of the great ballerina Svetlana Zakharova from the first cast of the ballet Eugene Onegin. It is because the last event that director Anatoly Iksanov lost his position, although he had nothing to do with it.

The director always and everywhere repeated, “I will not and do not consider it necessary to intervene in the artistic matters of the troupe.” On the one hand, he may be correct. But, on the other hand, if the ballet management starts to humiliate and insult people, to threaten them with removal from the repertoire, to deprive them of premiums for something said not to their liking, to distribute presidential grants in their own interests (covering themselves with a commission of people who get paid bonuses for it)… When at the initiative of the ballet’s directorship Ruslan Pronin is removed, having previously demanded from him a payment of $100,000 to keep the post of manager of the ballet company! After these conditions were presented and Pronin refused them, he was removed from the theater.

It is worth considering, where does the problem lie, where is the real tumor behind everything that is happening? When I–and I always spoke openly about this in the theater, trying to use legal means (through the union, the Labor Inspection) to resist these actions–am locked up in jail for a crime I did not order and did not organize. And I think it is clear to everyone: a person who has the support of half the theater, who is elected leader of the trade union (instead of Sergei Filin), does not need [to do] such a thing. And those involved in this Truman Show are wonderful actors.

http://www.svoboda.org/content/article/25095090.html

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Wow...what a saga...

While watching the troupe in London, I couldn't help but to keep linking the sickness of all this with the moving bodies onstage...

Not on any account could I do that. I have seen 19 performances out of 21 (work prevented me from seeing 2 more) and enjoyed them all. Every single preview and review in the press mentioned the Bolshoi's problems but the dancers didn't disappoint. I enjoyed their powerful exciting performances, some were truly outstanding and unforgettable, 'The Flames of Paris' among them.

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Wow...what a saga... While watching the troupe in London, I couldn't help but to keep linking the sickness of all this with the moving bodies onstage...

Not on any account could I do that. I have seen 19 performances out of 21 (work prevented me from seeing 2 more) and enjoyed them all. Every single preview and review in the press mentioned the Bolshoi's problems but the dancers didn't disappoint. I enjoyed their powerful exciting performances, some were truly outstanding and unforgettable, 'The Flames of Paris' among them.

It never crossed my mind either.

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Wow...what a saga... While watching the troupe in London, I couldn't help but to keep linking the sickness of all this with the moving bodies onstage...

Not on any account could I do that.

It never crossed my mind either.

Hard to stop a thought once it pushes to cross my mind. And that the drama didn't stop then and there with the arrest...? And that there's a rotten, way deeper ongoing turmoil at the moment, right now, even within the current roster perhaps..? Not difficult at all to imagine.

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Hard to stop a thought once it pushes to cross my mind. And that the drama stopped then and there with the arrest...? And that there's a rotten, way deeper ongoing turmoil at the moment, right now, even within the current roster perhaps..? Not difficult at all to imagine.

True, the drama didn't stop with the arrest but continued: worries for Filin with his numerous operations, Pronin losing his job, Tsiskaridze's contract not being renewed, Iksanov's contract terminated, Vorontsova’s resignation, the dancers and staff waiting now for unavoidable reshuffle in the company (opera manager M.Fikhtengolts has already lost his job) and so on.

But I personally do not imagine all this while watching excellent performances by the Bolshoi company. Thank you, Bolshoi, for the wonderful three weeks!

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It could be that I usually tend to do that...always trying to "see" the beyond...to identify signs within the big picture. It all has been too recently, and I'm one that sustains that the Bolshoi will never be the same after this. By now we all know Fillin's episode is just not the result of an isolated, crazied act of one man, but rather the explosion of a very complex and tiring situation that is just beginning to overflow. For me enjoying a ballet performance involves many aspects..one of them being able to feel a certain cohesion, camaraderie, JOY onstage that is just generated within a proper environment. Alonso's and Villella's company has that, and it is PALPABLE onstage. The Bolshoi-(with its ample range of hyper extensions, uber flexible backs and military corps)- didn't give me that.

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A Russian news program visited Filin in Aachen, and the subsequent report presented a mixed picture. Filin descibes himself as a "half invalid"; he has no sight in his right eye and what sight he has comes and goes. However he also says that sometimes he can read newspapers without difficulty, and as the report notes, he's able to walk through the town pretty much unaided. Filin is hoping that doctors will give him permission to return to Moscow on September 14.

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Wow...what a saga...

While watching the troupe in London, I couldn't help but to keep linking the sickness of all this with the moving bodies onstage...

Not on any account could I do that. I have seen 19 performances out of 21 (work prevented me from seeing 2 more) and enjoyed them all. Every single preview and review in the press mentioned the Bolshoi's problems but the dancers didn't disappoint. I enjoyed their powerful exciting performances, some were truly outstanding and unforgettable, 'The Flames of Paris' among them.

When I booked the tickets about 10,000 miles away from London, on the other side of earth, the "Bolshoi turmoil" completely vanished in my mind. I only thought of the wonderful Bolshoi's dancers, I wanted to see Bolshoi ballet in theater!

However, after watching the Flames of Paris on the 16th night, I felt very sorry for Bolshoi's management to let Osipova and Vasiliev go.

It seems to me that Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev danced with exceptional passion at that night. Maybe, Osipova and Vassiliev had missed this ballet for too long, in which Ratmansky made some special choreography for Vasiliev. Their accumulated energy finally had chances to explode out. Their jumping and turning on the stage just like flames, free & unfettered, flashing & dazzling. Every dancer on the stage responded to their instigating, danced perfectly from hearts, with passion & inspiration, cheering each other. I was so moved by their performance that I couldn't help tearing, especially in the final scene, when I saw Merkuriev's sad face and bewildered gazing.

Will I ever see a ballet like THAT again?

ohmy.png

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This evening's TV Russian news program, Vremya, showed Sergei Filin arriving at Moscow airport with his wife, who looks very much like Evgenia Obraztsova at the airport, and others waiting to greet him, including Ekaterina Novikova and Darya Khokhlova. He has had 23 operations in Germany and will be at Bolshoi Theater on Monday. He talked about working with Pierre Lacotte, but I do not know when. He will return to Germany for more operations and plans on working permanently at Bolshoi Theater in February.

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Here is the TV News about Sergei Filin’s arrival at Moscow airport:

http://ria.ru/tv_society/20130914/963207018.html

He said that his left eye had improved very significantly and with his right eye he can see his fingers.

Sergei’s sister Elena gave an interview:

http://www.mk.ru/culture/article/2013/09/15/915558-rodnaya-sestra-sergeya-filina-mk-brat-uzhe-gotov-vyiyti-na-rabotu.html

She quoted his words: “I can see and move around independently.” He said that he is ready to start working and is planning to come to the theatre on the 16th Sept. for the auditions of new young dancers and on the 17th for the meeting of the company.

She confirmed that he can see 80% with his left eye but there are some rises and falls.

A progress has been made with his right eye too. He can see large objects. If he closes his left eye, then he can see with his right eye his fingers, which wasn’t the case earlier. The treatment will continue.

May be he will stay in Moscow for a month, may be longer.

When asked if he has no problem with watching performances and rehearsals, Elena replied: “Of course. He went to London and saw the Bolshoi’s performance there.”

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