565 replies to this topic

[puppytreats]

No one condones the violence, or is not saddened by Filin's pain and suffering.  We all pray for his comfort and strength.  

However, we have not discussed so much that is contained in the rather limited New Yorker article, which explains the attitude toward the police, the persons in power, and the environment.  

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This was Russia. Only the naïve flinch at brazen corruption. When I asked another member of the board of trustees about bribes, thievery, and waste at the Bolshoi, he shrugged.  ... The board member was shocked no more by the notion of financial malfeasance ...'I could care less,' .. 'Either you are one of the top three theatres in the world or you aren’t. If you spend an extra fifty million dollars, who cares? What’s a few hundred million for a country like ours?'...

'[ Money showed itself all the time, in the intrusions of rich boyfriends, in the impertinent demands of board members and politicians, in the campaigns to bring in more oligarchs to augment the budget. The dancers themselves worried about money; their base salaries were small, and they depended on Filin’s favor to be given the serious roles that would boost their income...

: 'What happens in the theatre reflects what is happening in the streets.' Russians, in the contemporary version of their fatalism, see their country as a landscape of endless bespredel, lawlessness, a world devoid of order or justice or restraint. One disaster is of a piece with another. The acid attack on Filin was of a piece with recent events like the broad-daylight assassination of Aslan Usoyan, also known as Grandpa Hassan, a renowned mobster. ... 'They found him encased in a barrel of concrete! It’s just like what happened to Sergei Filin.'

[Mme. Hermine]

Helene, on 17 March 2013 - 09:31 PM, said:

Tsiskaridze said earlier that anyone who knows a little science would know that it couldn't possibly have been sulfuric acid because if you add water to sulfuric acid, it becomes explosive, and since the guard and Filin rubbed snow on Filin's face and neck right after he was attacked, and he showered with cold water as soon as he was able to get back to his apartment and before the ambulance came, the snow/water would have done more damage than good.  (Sulfuric acid needs to be added to water to avoid the reaction.)  However, any one knowing how to use Google search and knowing a little science can make specious arguments, since the appropriate first response for sulfuric acid burns is to rinse with copious amounts of cold water.  Running water over acid-burned skin is not the same as adding water to a container of concentrated sulfuric acid.

Tsiskaridze brought this up ostensibly to argue that the authorities' story and methods were not up to snuff and that anything the police said should be suspect.  That line of thinking has obviously worked in the theater, so why should he stop now?

http://www.nlm.nih.g...icle/002492.htm

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If the chemical is on the skin or in the eyes, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes.

[Alayna]

This is a link to an article on a Russian website. I did a Google translation but it's not hard to understand the gist of it. I thought it was interesting that the writer raised doubts about the 300 signatures supposedly supporting Dmitrichenko and how Tsiskaridze was vague when asked about them. Nice to know that not everyone in Russia is drinking his Kool Aid.

http://informacia.ru.../3348-2384.html

[Ilya]

Helene, on 17 March 2013 - 09:31 PM, said:

Tsiskaridze brought this up ostensibly to argue that the authorities' story and methods were not up to snuff and that anything the police said should be suspect.  That line of thinking has obviously worked in the theater, so why should he stop now?

It's not obvious to me that anything has "worked" in the theater.  I still have only seen ten signatures on the letter in support of Dmitrichenko.  Various numbers such as 300 or 360 signatures have been thrown around, but it is unclear to me whether the media has any reliable sources for these numbers.  Even assuming that these numbers are correct (which I am not going to believe until I see the signers volunteer their names), only 10% of the Bolshoi employees signed the letter, as there are about 3500 employees.  Even if we are to believe the reports that have come out in the press, then most of the principals, leading soloists, and teachers of the ballet company did not sign it.

[Natalia]

The Bolshoi hosted a big official show of support of Grigorovich this past week, in the form of the "first annual" Russki Balet Competition for young dancers from throughout the ballet academies. Filin was not mentioned in the Finals telecast on the national TV station Kultura, which I saw.

Iksanov and the Prime Minister's wife sat behind Grigorovich, who, as Chairman, sat in the middle of the jurors panel that included most ADs of top Russian ballet companies and some stars, such as Vishneva (who appeared to laugh at, or sometimes applaud, competitors...most unusual for a juror in such competitions).

For the thread on the competition, go here:
http://balletalert.i...ion-at-bolshoi/

Many Russian friends have commented to me that this appears to be a bit of old Politburo-like political play.

[Helene]

There seem to be a lot of articles and reports of a meeting of the dancers in which they claim that the investigation was political and that Dmitrichenko is innocent and being railroaded, as well as questioning whether Filin was injured as badly as reported, although I'm not sure whether they mean altogether innocent, or innocent of planning an acid attack vs. a routine beating, in this case by a m?an who served prison time for killing someone in a routine beating.  I'd call that a success, although it might backfire in the end, more along the lines of what Iksanov described as creating an atmosphere in which the attack took place.

Of the dancers whose signature has been made public, have they been vocally pro-Grigorovich?

[Ilya]

puppytreats, on 18 March 2013 - 11:19 AM, said:

No one condones the violence, or is not saddened by Filin's pain and suffering.  We all pray for his comfort and strength.  

This statement is incorrect: there do exist people who are not saddened.  Tsiskaridze said so many times, for example, in David Remnick's article:

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When I asked him if he sympathized with Filin, who, at that point, was on his tenth operation, Tsiskaridze rolled his eyes and said, “I don’t care about what happened. After Filin started pressing on my students to leave me, after he banned artists from going to my class, I just stopped talking to him. If he calls me about work, we talk, but nothing more. I’m not interested in this person.”

Helene, on 19 March 2013 - 12:21 PM, said:

There seem to be a lot of articles and reports of a meeting of the dancers in which they claim that the investigation was political and that Dmitrichenko is innocent and being railroaded, as well as questioning whether Filin was injured as badly as reported, although I'm not sure whether they mean altogether innocent, or innocent of planning an acid attack vs. a routine beating, in this case by a m?an who served prison time for killing someone in a routine beating.  I'd call that a success, although it might backfire in the end, more along the lines of what Iksanov described as creating an atmosphere in which the attack took place.

Moreover, there have been reports of Dmitrichenko being elected "unanimously" or "almost unanimously" to be the chairman of Bolshoi's labor union, after his detention---this was claimed by Tsiskaridze in the video posted above and then found its way into a number of Russian newspapers.  While all these stories certainly create the impression of many Bolshoi dancers supporting Dmitrichenko and questioning Filin, these reports are all vague on the number of people present at all these meetings.  Do these reports have more than one source? I wonder.

[Ilya]

puppytreats, on 18 March 2013 - 11:19 AM, said:

However, we have not discussed so much that is contained in the rather limited New Yorker article, which explains the attitude toward the police, the persons in power, and the environment.  

Perhaps this might be because the topic's title is "Sergey Filin attacked".  Naturally we are mostly discussing the brutal physical attack against him on January 17 and the brutal verbal attacks against him that have gone on for two months since then.

[volcanohunter]

Ilya, on 19 March 2013 - 05:51 PM, said:

Moreover, there have been reports of Dmitrichenko being elected "unanimously" or "almost unanimously" to be the chairman of Bolshoi's labor union, after his detention---this was claimed by Tsiskaridze in the video posted above and then found its way into a number of Russian newspapers.  While all these stories certainly create the impression of many Bolshoi dancers supporting Dmitrichenko and questioning Filin, these reports are all vague on the number of people present at all these meetings.  Do these reports have more than one source? I wonder.

Anna Antonicheva has confirmed Dmitrichenko's election. Apparently, the opera section of the performer's union elected him prior to his arrest, and the ballet section did so "last week."
http://www.mk.ru/cul...profsoyuza.html

[Alayna]

http://www.npr.org/t...oryId=174833684    It looks like with the help of powerful supporters in high places that Tsiskaridze may be gaining the upper hand. If he does succeed in replacing Iksanov as director of the Bolshoi then I don't see how Sergei Filin will be able to return to his post as artistic director.

[cubanmiamiboy]

volcanohunter, on 19 March 2013 - 06:35 PM, said:

Anna Antonicheva has confirmed Dmitrichenko's election. Apparently, the opera section of the performer's union elected him prior to his arrest, and the ballet section did so "last week."
http://www.mk.ru/cul...profsoyuza.html

   Wow...this is getting more and more bizarre each time.  So Dmitrichenko is indeed popular among ballet dancers, even after his arrest...?

[cubanmiamiboy]

[Mashinka]

cubanmiamiboy, on 20 March 2013 - 08:13 AM, said:

volcanohunter, on 19 March 2013 - 06:35 PM, said:

Anna Antonicheva has confirmed Dmitrichenko's election. Apparently, the opera section of the performer's union elected him prior to his arrest, and the ballet section did so "last week."
http://www.mk.ru/cul...profsoyuza.html

   Wow...this is getting more and more bizarre each time.  So Dmitrichenko is indeed popular among ballet dancers, even after his arrest...?

I think they believe his so-called confession was beaten out of him and if he is right in some of his accusations about pay and conditions it's little wonder the dancers are behind him.

[volcanohunter]

cubanmiamiboy, on 20 March 2013 - 08:13 AM, said:

volcanohunter, on 19 March 2013 - 06:35 PM, said:

Anna Antonicheva has confirmed Dmitrichenko's election. Apparently, the opera section of the performer's union elected him prior to his arrest, and the ballet section did so "last week."
http://www.mk.ru/cul...profsoyuza.html

   Wow...this is getting more and more bizarre each time.  So Dmitrichenko is indeed popular among ballet dancers, even after his arrest...?

In the interview Antonicheva was asked about that.

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- Is it true that Mr. Dmitrichenko is the leader within the ballet troupe?

- Yes, we think so. At least within our union.

Mezzo-soprano Alexandra Durseneva gave a description of how the voting took place.

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According to Bolshoi Opera soloist Alexandra Durseneva, the performers' union currently has approximately 300 members: the opera section has roughly 50 members, and the ballet section has approximately 250. Incidentally, the ballet artists, voting already after Dmitrichenko's arrest, demonstrated a rare degree of solidarity.

"The meeting was legitimate, the entire choir rehearsal hall was filled," Durseneva noted. "The overwhelming majority voted for Pasha, perhaps only 10 people were not for him."

According to another account, a few artists abstained, but no one voted against Dmitrichenko.

http://izvestia.ru/news/546889

According to Izvestia, this vote took place on March 9, the opera singers having already voted on March 2. Since members of the opera company were also present at the dancers' meeting, it was considered something of an AGM.

Because Dmitrichenko is not able to perform his duties at present, the union is currently being run by company manager Ruslan Pronin. Other dancer representatives include Maria Alexandrova, Elena Andrienko and Denis Savin. The dancers are demanding to be included in the artistic advisory board formed last week at the Bolshoi Ballet. Its head, Boris Akimov, says he is not opposed to the idea.

However, the problem of the performers' union being headed by a member of the theater administration remains, so Pronin is to hold the position for only three months. If by that time Dmitrichenko has not been released from police custody, another election will have to be held.
http://izvestia.ru/news/547033

[Ilya]

Moreover, the election of Dmitrichenko is confirmed by the Bolshoi press secretary Novikova in the first Izvestia article quoted above: http://izvestia.ru/n...546889. That's certainly an independent source that gives even more credence to the story.  Astonishing.  I find the following comment by an unnamed member of the union from the second article (http://izvestia.ru/news/547033) especially priceless:

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As we have seen in practice, having only one director in the troupe leads to tragic consequences.

So now Filin's directorship is to blame for the acid attack.  Next thing you know the Bolshoi artists will accuse Filin of splashing acid on Dmitrichenko.