Ilya

Another sign that Tsiskaridze might be winning, and that the ground is perhaps being laid for him to seize power at the Bolshoi: the Bolshoi is being audited by the Accounts Chamber, http://izvestia.ru/n...#ixzz2O97NLX84.

Another report from a labor union meeting, http://izvestia.ru/news/547101, and another gem:

Among other issues, the artists discussed how to avoid repeating the tragedy that happened with Sergey Filin.

I have a radical suggestion. To avoid such tragedies, why don't the Bolshoi artists refrain from hiring convicted killers to maim their upper management?

The Russian news reports that Tsiskaridze's flat has allegedly been broken into. Maybe someone who does not have to rely on Google translate can give better insight into what this short article reports:http://news.mail.ru/...ail=1&social=fb

Here it is:

Unknown people picked the locks to the entrance door to the apartment of a principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet Nikolay Tsiskaridze in the center of Moscow, RIA Novosti learned from a police source. According to him, the artist called 02 [Translator's note: the Russian equivalent of 911 for police-related matters] to report that the locks on his apartment's entrance door were broken, on Thursday at approximately 5:25pm Moscow time.

The press office of the Moscow police confirmed the call, but did not clarify the victim's identity.

"Currently there is an investigative group working there; it's being established where anything was stolen from the apartment," said a representative of the police department.

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:

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.

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.

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:

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.”

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.

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.

A couple of excerpts from this are quoted above in my post #457. Basic summary: unscrupulous people piling on a severely injured person. And on, and on, and on. "All the confrontations between Pavel and Sergey were because of all the injustices that Sergey perpetrated on various dancers... Sergey was looking very strange at the press conference. If you are a burn victim, you'd want your burns to be uncovered or at most covered with cotton. How come he was wearing a heavy woolen cap and a scarf? How can one look like that after chemical burns?---Yes, everybody at the theater is talking about this... All of us have suspicions---we all would like for professionals to explain to us, where are these, unfortunately sulphuric acid burns---God save everyone from these---especially they are talking about third-degree burns, about a wild number of surgeries... In actuality, you are looking at this person yourselves (footage of Filin's press conference being shown on the big screen in the studio) and its funny to give any explanations... Everyone at the theater is talking about this."

Fifteen minutes of this video were enough to make me want to throw up, then I stopped watching. It's too disgusting for me to finish watching the entire 40 minutes, sorry.

The second one is from "Izvestia", http://izvestia.ru/news/546821

Initially Nikolay Tsiskaridze was a suspect in the attack on the chief ballet master of the Bolshoi Theater. Among those who could have stood behind the attack, Filin named the soloist of the theater Nikolay Tsiskaridze. During the first interrogation, the Artistic Director of the ballet company said that Tsiskaridze blackmailed him using the recording of Filin's conversation with ballerina Angelina Vorontsova.

According to "Izvestia's" information, Sergey Filin shared his suspicions regarding the supposed organizer of one of the most sensational crimes of 2013 inside Moscow's Hospital 36 the next day after the attack.

"The name of Nikolay Tsiskaridze came up during the first interrogation," a source close to the investigation told "Izvestia". "Sergey Filin said that the leading soloist of the Bolshoi theater told him that he was clamping down on his students. "According to the ballet master, Tsiskaridze did not make direct threats; however, literally a month before the attack there was an incident between them that, according to the Bolshoi Artistic Director's opinion, could have led to the attack."

At that time, according to the Bolshoi Ballet's Artistic Director, Tsiskaridze said that he was in possession of an audio recording of a conversation of Sergey Filin with Angelina Vorontsova, in which the ballet master proposed that the ballerina change her coach and leave Tsiskaridze. "Nikolay Tsiskaridze called this conversation a compromising material against me," explained ballet master to the insvestigator.

In addition to Tsiskaridze, Sergey Filin also mentioned Pavel Dmitrichenko and the ballet company manager Ruslan Pronin during the interrogation. The former openly threatened him and hinted at a "surprise" in the making, and the latter was a close friend of Dmitrichenko and was in the know about all the Artistic Director's work.

"Sergey Filin related that, besides Tsiskaridze, Pavel Dmitrichenko was also collecting compromising material against him," continues "Izvestia's" interlocutor. "The theory with Dmitrichenko looked more convincing, because he, according to Filin, openly voiced dissatisfaction, made complaints, provoked the troupe, threatened, mentioned some "surprise" in the making."

The ballet company manager Ruslan Pronin was initially a suspect not only as a close friend of Pavel Dmitrichenko, but also as a person who was informed about many aspects of Filin's professional activities. Two days after the attack, while in the hospital, the ballet master recalled that on the day of the attack Ruslan Pronin asked him whether he was going to watch the performance at the Bolshoi. Filin told him that he was going to go to MHAT that evening.

Pronin became the only suspect who asked Sergey Filin about his plans for the evening of January 17. However, later it turned out that he was asked to find out Filin's whereabouts by none other than Pavel Dmitrichenko---under the pretext that he wanted to give the Artistic Director a letter from the labor union about problems in the theater. The same evening, Ruslan Pronin sent to Dmitrichenko's phone two text messages. The first one was: "Filin came in, you should stop by regarding the union." The second one said that the Artistic Director of the Ballet had left the theater.

Both Nikolay Tsiskaridze and Ruslan Pronin were not available for comments when this material was being prepared.

Filin reconstructed the details of the evening of January 17 minute by minute. On his way back from the theater, he gave a ride to Karetnaya Street to his colleague Olga Smirnova, and then went to the courtyard of his house. He walked from the parking to the metal gate which was in front of the entrance, and started keying in the code; however, the device didn't immediately work. At this moment he noticed a young man three feet away who was hiding his face under a mask or a scarf. The attacker was looking Sergey Filin directly in the eyes, and kept his right hand behind his back. Suspecting foul play, the Artistic Director wanted to do something, but at this moment the criminal quickly approached him and splashed acid in his face.

Injured Sergey Filin ran towards the guard's booth at the parking lot, falling down several times on his way. The guard, after seeing the ballet master who was writhing in pain, attempted to wipe his face with snow, then called Filin's spouse Maria and the paramedics. Together with his wife, the Bolshoi Ballet's Artistic Director went home upstairs and tried to wash his eyes and face with cold water.

Recently, both the investigators and Filin himself confirmed that Pavel Dmitrichenko was among the suspects from the very beginning.

"I'm unhappy with what happened to me and with the fact that somebody decided that it's ok to do this to me. As to the suspects---the person who has been detained, was among them," Filin said during a press-conference at the clinic in Aachen on March 15.

Earlier, the head of the Investigative Department of Moscow Central District's police Alexander Kuligin said in an interview with "Izvestia" that the investigators built their theories based on the testimony of Sergey Filin and on the interrogations of other employees of the Bolshoi Theater. During the vetting of various theories, according to Kuligin, the investigators zoomed in on one, which subsequently was confirmed.

Two more translations. The first one is from gazeta.ru, http://www.gazeta.ru...n_2803161.shtml

Employees of the Bolshoi Theater elected Pavel Dmitrichenko the chairman of the labor union committee of the Bolshoi Theater during a recent meeting of the labor union, related on Sunday a principal dancer of the theater Nikolay Tsiskaridze.

"Last week there was a meeting of the theater, and all unanimously elected Dmitrichenko, who is being investigated, as the chairman of the labor union committee of the Bolshoi Theater," said Tsiskaridze live on the NTV television channel.

He also remarked that "we saw Pavel on TV the next day after he was detained (in the case of the attack on the Artistic Director of the Ballet Sergey Filin.---Gazeta.Ru), with a huge bruises under the eyes, and the guys who had seen him the day before all said that a person cannot change like that in one day."

Commenting on the situation with suspicions against him, Tsiskaridze remarked that the investigators were sure of his innocence in the attack against the ballet master Sergey Filin from the very beginning.

"The investigator who was interrogating me told me that he doesn't understand why he was interrogating me," Tsiskaridze is quoted as saying by "Interfax". According to him, the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater does not believe the doctors' reports regarding Filin's health.

"Everybody has suspicions, we would like for the professionals to clarify to us, where is this burn, a third-degree burn that they are talking about, they are also talking about a large number of surgeries. All the artists are talking about this among themselves," he said.

These pictures do not give a good view of anything---the resolution is too low. But even there you can see that his entire face and neck are scarred. This, combined with the statements from his doctors and the reports of more than a dozen surgeries, looks extremely severe to me.

It's possible that the majority of signatories came from the ranks of the corps, as they do constitute the bulk of the Bolshoi Ballet, and that the press assumed that these names would not mean anything to its readers, so instead they perused the lists for dancers of higher rank and formulated the relevant sentences along the lines of "signatories include People's Artists X, Y and Z" and left everyone else out.

Almost certainly that is the case. Don't forget it wasn't just dancers that signed but also members of the opera, stage hands, and many others on the Bolshoi pay roll. http://www.bbc.co.uk...europe-21766692

Besides the President and other officials and the media, the letter is addressed to "Admirers of ballet and theater in Russia and abroad," which includes all of us here on this forum. As far as I am concerned, the letter is (mostly) anonymous, because I have only seen the signatures of ten people, plus the names of 30 or so others that came out in the press. Saying that the press is not interested in who else may have signed the letter is a lame excuse: in this day and age, information can be easily published online without going to the press---that is, if there is any desire to publish it. Clearly, most of the mysterious "300+" signers have no such desire.

In the last letter to the President that came out of the Bolshoi, some of the signatures were reportedly obtained through lies, and at least one signature appeared to be forged. Based on this very recent history, I will remain very skeptical until all the signers come forward, and until there is evidence that they had actually read the letter and meant to sign it.

Below is my translation of an interview with a police official published in "Izvestia" on March 15:

http://izvestia.ru/news/546733

There is some legal jargon (e.g., "ochnaya stavka" --- interrogation of two or more suspects or a suspect and a victim in the same room at the same time) that has no equivalent known to me in English, as well as

some slang which is difficult to translate. I tried my best.

The attack against the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet Sergey Filin is the most resonant recent event which made a splash even among people who are far from the ballet world. The head of the Investigative Department of the Moscow Central District Police Alexander Kuligin talked in an interview to "Izvestiya" about Bolshoi artists' attempts to exert pressure on the investigation and about the perpetrators' motives.

Q. Lately, a verbal duel has unfolded between the police and the Bolshoi Theater. Artists collect signatures to support Dmitrichenko and send collective letters to the police. The police is forced to respond. The Penal Code has an article "Exerting pressure on an investigation." Might there be a review related to this?

A. Whether or not there is pressure on this investigation will be clear from how events develop. All these statements are related to the views of the Bolshoi artists, their emotions which overwhelm them as creative individuals. They appeal not only to the justice system, but also to the President and the government. This is an expression of their emotional perception of the situation with the detention of their leading soloist.

Q. The Bolshoi director Gennadiy (sic!) Iksanov stated many times that behind Dmitrichenko there was some puppet-master who organized everything, whereas Dmitrichenko was only a weapon in his hands. What is the position of the investigators regarding this?

A. We do not have data to support the view that somebody pushed and forced Dmitrichenko to commit a crime. Before we conducted the detention operation, we interrogated the victim himself, and Iksanov, and other Bolshoi employees. And, in principle, we built our hypotheses based on Filin's testimony. During the vetting of these hypotheses we arrived at the one and only version.

Q. One of the detainees---previously convicted Yuri Zarutsky---is now attempting to argue that Dmitrichenko and Lipatov were not informed about his plans, that he never took any money from the Bolshoi soloist, and that he found Filin's address and photo and the acid's recipe online.

A. We have all the data that show how stable were the connections among these three persons involved: how they were arranging this beforehand, what their actions were on the day of the attack. This testimony of Zarutsky is simply his method to escape justice, as a person who is well informed about what "weighs" how much. [Translator's note: under Russian law, a group conspiracy entails a longer prison term than acting single-handedly.] We have a large amount of other evidence. It's going to the location. It's video recordings, both from the location of the incident, and from the place where Filin was watched. The data about how his itinerary from the Bolshoi Theater was being tracked, etc. We knew very clearly before the detention who was doing what and who was where. As to the driver not being informed… They didn't come to Filin's house for the first time. He and Zarutsky had conducted a reconnaissance of the area.

Q. But lawyer Sergey Zhorin states that the leading soloist of the Bolshoi Pavel Dmitrichenko was not aware of the attack that was being prepared, and that Yuri Zarutsky, the actual attacker, was acting on his own.

A. There have been joint interrogations conducted with the three suspects. The contradictions that had existed in their testimonies have been eliminated. For that matter, they do not have to say anything, they have this right according to the law.

Q. Lawyers are appealing Lipatov's arrest. Would the investigators, having collected all the necessary information, agree to release him on bail or put him under house arrest?

A. We are not bloodthirsty people. But in this situation anything is possible. One of them is an ex-convict and has already attempted to escape. The second one does not do anything, does not have a job, and has no ties to any particular place. We are not entirely sure that we are not going to lose him tomorrow, that he is not going to leave. At the moment I do not see any grounds for releasing them. Taking the publicity into account, I cannot rule out the possibility that, once free, they will ride the wave of these emotions and start representing themselves as victims of the repressions of the criminal justice system, and claim that we want to frame them for this crime. Since even now, while they are in jail, there is talk of some "big people" who ordered this crime, can you imagine what public heros and abuse victims they will become if they are freed?

Q. Will there be a joint interrogation of Filin and the suspects?

A. This is planned for after Sergey Filin comes back from abroad. Much will depend on the state of his health. However, even now, we can confidently say that Zarutsky committed the attack, and I think that all the forensics, including comparative ones, will show to us everything that's necessary.

Q. Due to the victim being far away, is it possible to conduct some investigative actions using modern communication technology, such as Skype?

A. Unfortunately, the laws do not keep up with the development of technology. Each statement must be signed, and in addition a place of interrogation must be well-defined. If Sergey Filin is situated in Germany, and our investigator is in Moscow, then we would have to put down a neutral zone as the place of interrogation (laughs).

Q. Pavel Dmitrichenko in his testimony talked about Filin's financial transgressions and even crimes---about bribery at the theater, bribes accompanying role assignment and permissions to guest at other theaters. Will this information be checked separately?

A. Yes, this person was displeased by the policy at the theater. From his point of view, these were violations of law. Yes, this is indeed being used during the investigation and is being defined as motives for committing the crime: being dissatisfied with certain practices instituted by the Artistic Director. However, we cannot speak about crimes here yet. These are unofficial statements that we receive. If the company or someone from the Bolshoi thinks that some employees or managers abuse their position, disrupt financial affairs, they have the right to file a complaint which we will then investigate. It is easy to call Filin a swindler. Anyone can say: "Here he is---a thief, steals company's money." If anyone really thinks that---you are welcome to contact the police, there will be a corresponding investigation. And if it reveals violations, the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

Q. Dmitrichenko mentioned several times in his testimony that Zarutsky offered him to kill, or "do", or "off" Sergey Filin. Could the charge change from "inflicting grievous bodily harm" to "attempted murder"?

A. Him wanting to kill is probably too much. However, he did offer to heavily beat the victim, up to breaking his bones---they were discussing this. They were discussing with each other different possibilities during the preparation of the crime. But they decided what they decided. Thank God that Dmitrichenko is not such a gangster and did not go for such extreme measures as a murder.

Q. Dmitrichenko is stating that he did not know anything about the acid. What is the opinion of the investigators on this point?

A. The testimony tells us that the direction towards harming victim's health was common. Everybody had the same plan. However, the method was selected by the attacker. This method is quicker, taking into account the fact that the place of the attack is the center of Moscow where there are many people. While being beaten, the victim could have called for help. Furthermore, the guard is located near the place of the incident. This is because they have a guarded parking, elite housing. This entailed such a method of inflicting injury.

Q. During the attempt on Filin, Pavel Dmitrichenko was in the car of his friend and Bolshoi colleague, Batyr Annadurdyev. If one is to believe Dmitrichenko's testimony, they were watching Filin, while Annadurdyev was behind the wheel. How do the investigators classify the actions of this soloist (sic) of the theater?

A. At that moment, Dmitrichenko did not have a car. And he used Batyr to drive him around that day. However, here we have a person who really was not informed about Dmitrichenko's criminal intent.

Q. Might there be a cover-up of a crime here?

A. For this, it would be necessary for Dmitrichenko to tell Batyr: "My friends have committed a crime, they attacked Filin, and now we are going to meet with them and give them money." This hypothesis was checked but was not confirmed.

Q. The person behind the wheel of a car hears his passenger describing Filin's movements to somebody over the phone, follows the direction of his passenger to tail a certain car, knowing what car it is. It would be difficult not to put two and two together, having found out half an hour later about the attempt committed on Filin.

A. In this case we cannot charge him with a cover-up. No one openly told Annadurdyev: "I committed a crime." And Annadurdyev wasn't a witness to this crime or its preparation. Dmitrichenko told Batyr a completely different story. To listen to other people's conversations and to analyze them… Now you and I can understand their significance because we know what they were about.

Q. Even before the case was solved, there was a supposition of some role that Nikolay Tsiskaridze played in what happened. After the detention of the suspects, was Tsiskaridze interrogated again? Were there any suspicions regarding him?

A. At this time, we do not have any grounds to suspect anyone else among the Bolshoi employees. If other circumstances are revealed, the guilty ones will be found and brought to justice.

Q. How did Yuri Zarutsky behave after he was detained, was he trying to deny everything?

A. He realized everything immediately. The detention was not a surprise for him. When they make a film about this crime, they will present everything in an embellished manner. On the contrary, our work is painstaking and tedious---reconstruct the crime little by little, find out who was where at that moment, who was doing what. We carefully compiled all the evidence before the detention. That's why everything was going so slowly. We could have grabbed them immediately, they would have spent a couple of nights in jail and then released.

Q. Dmitrichenko spent all day with the investigators, up to the moment of his detention. Was he nervous, did he show in any way that his was worried?

A. He was not expecting that everyone involved in this crime would be detained. He was not expecting to be face to face with Zarutsky and Lipatov. He realized that his whole criminal design was found out.

Izvestia has published one sheet of signatures, and no doubt this particular one was chosen because it includes Tsiskaridze's. It claims there are 35 more sheets. All of the signatories on the published sheet--Kochkina, Baranov, Kochan, Tsiskaridze, Barichka, Bochkareva, Zhidkov, Zelenko, Oppengeym, Savichev--are members of the ballet company.

http://izvestia.ru/news/546485

Between the scan of handwritten signatures and the names printed in the article itself, there are 42 names listed. That still is a long way from 300+. A letter from the Bolshoi to the President where the names of the signers come to light little by little---why does this sound so familiar? Another thing that sounds familiar is the President's response, http://vz.ru/news/2013/3/13/624230.html:

Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia, said on Wednesday that Vladimir Putin, like all Russians, is following the course of the investigation of the attack on the Bolshoi ballet master Sergey Filin, but the investigation is the prerogative of the investigators, not of the head of state.

This is a translation of an open letter by employees of the Bolshoi Theater demanding a fair investigation and trial of Pavel Dmitrichenko. It is said to have been signed by more than 300 employees.

http://www.mk.ru/cul...itrichenko.html

It is certainly said to have been signed by more than 300 employees, but in fact the letter (or at least its published version) is anonymous (it's quite ironic that they are calling it an "open letter"). I have not seen any evidence that this number is anywhere close to reality. The article cited above names the following signers: Alexandrova, Allash, Antonicheva, Volchkov, and Tsiskaridze. That's five. Who are the remaining 295+?

The most contradictory info is that Dmitrichenko was sitting in the car on a stake-out, but wanted to call the whole thing off, and then told Zarutsky where his target was.

My interpretation of what's said in the article is that he was going to call it off because it was getting late and Filin hadn't come out yet. Just as he was going to call it off, Filin appeared, and so, instead of calling it off, he told Zarutsky that Filin just came out of the theater and was probably going to drive home. So I don't see much contradiction.

His page on the official Bolshoi website: http://www.bolshoi.ru/persons/ballet/146/

In order for everybody else to understand what you are referring to, here is a translation of the last paragraph of the same article.

The next day Dmitrichenko met Zarutsky and Lipatov, gave them 50,000 rubles, and said: "I do not know you any more." Dmitrichenko also said during the interrogation that he was fully repenting, that he had not wanted to inflict such harm on Filin, that he had not planned such a monstrous method for the attack, that he was ready to compensate the Artistic Director for damages, and asked to be forgiven.

We need to keep in mind the following flow of information: Dmitrichenko -> interrogator(s) -> article's source(s) -> the journalist (Nadezhda Gladchenko) -> the published text. Distortions are possible at every link of this long chain. It is also a possibility that Dmitrichenko was scared during the interrogation and much less scared during the court appearance.

http://lifenews.ru/news/111507

I don't have time to translate the whole thing, but here is an excerpt that has to do with Mr. Annadurdyev.

On January 17 Dmitrichenko, together with dancer Batyr Annadurdyev and musician Alexander Yurasov, was going to go to his dacha in the Stupinsky district. In the afternoon he accidentally overheard at the theater that Sergey Filin was going to attend a gala at MHAT.

"We were sitting with Annadurdyev in a car in a parking lot and were watching some show, periodically re-parking in order to get a better Internet reception," said Dmitrichenko. "All this time I was watching Filin's car. Around 10:30pm I called Zarutsky to call everything off, but just at that moment I saw that Filin was approaching his car. And I told Zarutsky that he, most likely, was going home."

After awhile, according to Dmitrichenko, Zarutsky called him and said: "That's it, [translator's note: here he used a slang verb which I am powerless to translate into English and which can mean a broad array of things, including the infliction of unspecified bodily harm on someone]," without specifying what exactly they did to Filin. The accomplices met up, Dmitrichenko gave Zarutsky 3000 rubles for gasoline which he took from Annadurdyev under the pretext of buying Spice.

"At home, I heard a phone conversation of Anzhelina Vorontsova during which Nikolai Tsiskaridze told her that Filin was doused with acid," Pavel summed up.

I'm glad to have done the translation, even though it took a lot of time. Pavlenko comes across as a very reasonable person who is making some reasonable points, and I think she deserves to be heard.

Two things strike me as particularly sad. First, the crazy system of micromanaging pay scales that involves demeaning and arbitrary fines, and an arbitrary assignment of prices to roles. Whoever concocted this insanity was clearly brought up under communism and has no idea about the basics of economics and management. Second, while $700 million is spent on the construction of Mariinsky-2 (most of it probably to line up the pockets of various officials), they offer a salary of $4000 per year to the likes of Smirnova and Shapran. (One of the fringe benefits: the possibility of spending several weeks in a row without days off.) Talk about not being able to save for an apartment "in a year or two"---with these salaries, they wouldn't save for an apartment in 100 years! Sometimes I wonder if Gergiev's brain is actually aware of what comes out of his mouth during his interviews.

An interview with Darya Pavlenko http://ptj.spb.ru/bl...m-u-vas-lebedi/

How Much Do Your Swans Cost?

Representatives of the ballet company of the Mariinsky Theater wrote a letter addressed to the Minister of Culture, where they described a list of grievances to the management of the ballet and requested to "conduct an audit of the financial and administrative activities of the Theater." The administration of the Mariinsky Theater reacted with a press release in which it declared the grievances unfounded, yet agreed to "discuss any problems with the dancers." V.A. Gergiev himself dignified the letter with his answer. The Ministry, however, has been silent so far. Taking advantage of the pause, we talked with a prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Darya Pavlenko.

Marianna Dimant. Darya Vladimirovna, are you the Chair of the labor union of the ballet department?

Darya Pavlenko. I am just a member of the union. Our Chair is Dmitry Nikolaevich Pykhachev; however, now he is taking an unpaid leave, and so we are working together with Valery Kon'kov.

D. The letter which the labor union of the ballet department sent to the Minister of Culture, is signed by three people. Why did you not go through its approval at a meeting of the entire ballet company?

P. Because the letter is about problems that do not require a meeting of the company: we pointed out violations of the labor laws that exist in the theater. It is an indisputable fact. To call a meeting regarding whether or not internal labor rules are needed in the theater, I think is pointless. They are not only needed, they are required.

D. In the press release distributed by the Mariinsky Theater, it says that such rules exist.

P. Yes, I know what the press release says. The rules that they are talking about are from 1986. They are 25 years old---they were created in a country that no longer exists. We think that they need to be adjusted. The Chair of the labor union showed us these rules---they do not have any signatures. The rules need to be approved both by the administration of the Theater and by the Chair of the labor union. Since there are no signatures, they are invalid.

D. Have you tried to discuss this with your management?

P. Certainly. First, we talked about this with the administration of the ballet company. They said: "Yes-yes, we would like to have such rules." And then we sent an official request to V.A. Gergiev's deputy Yu.A. Shvartskopf. We also touched upon other issues in that letter, and we did not get answers to any of them.

D. When did this happen?

P. This happened in May. After this, we talked to Valery Abisalovich. He said that he was aware of the events and that he was going to deal with all this.

D. Has he dealt with it?

P. I understand very well that, as busy as he is, it is very difficult to make time to sit down and start addressing the problems of the ballet company. But we simply do not have a choice. Because the artists of our department voted for us, we have to get things done. Artists come to us with various complaints---on how work hours are being counted, on the absence of days off (sometimes it happens that we work a month with no days off)---and we simply have to react.

D. But why did you start reacting only now? Didn't you have a labor union before?

P. We did, but it wasn't very active. We were elected in April 2012. The problems were accumulating gradually, and now we can say that the boiling point has been reached---primarily because of the experimental pay scale of the corps de ballet artists. I want to emphasize that everything that we are talking about concerns, first and foremost, the corps de ballet. Soloists are able to speak about their problems themselves, and they are of course inclined to be occupied with themselves first. But the corps de ballet cannot defend themselves.

D. Has the system of the distribution of grants changed? Was it different under Makhar Vaziev?

P. We have had grants since 2003. Under Makhar Vaziev, the grants were fixed. In other words, there was a certain part of the grant that did not depend on the number of performances. The ballet management was not satisfied with this, because a person could do nothing and receive salary for nothing.

D. I recall that in one interview Yuri Fateyev said that this system needed to be changed.

P. Yes, and he did a lot to introduce the new system. We are not against this system---we would like it to be adjusted. Bolshoi Theater's practice is that part of the grant remains fixed, whereas another part is a bonus. It is awarded to those people who worked a lot and well. Whereas people who worked poorly will only receive the fixed part.

D. How does one decide who "worked poorly"? Does it mean "too little"? It is possible to work little and well, and it is possible to work a lot and poorly. And also it is possible to work both little and poorly. Who should be deciding this?

P. This is a very delicate question. Everybody knows very well that every manager likes some artists more than others.

D. Do you agree that it has always been like this, and probably always will be?

P. Yes, it has been and will be like this. Not only in ballet theaters, but also in drama theaters. There are artists who are able and willing to work, but the director (or, in our case, the ballet manager) does not see them. Precisely because of this we would like to make sure that artists who, due to various reasons, do not participate in many performances, are somehow protected. Of course our ballet bodies wear out quickly, and if at 20 everything is fine, then at 35 everything is not so fine. And you stop being liked. But you have a family, and moreover, you spent your health working in this profession, and it is not quite right to deprive you of stable earnings.

D. They could respond that they are not Social Security.

P. They say this to us all the time.

D. You profession is cruel: you lose form, you have to leave and do something else. Perhaps one could reason this way as well.

P. Still, it seems to me that there should exist some gratitude for the fact that the person gave himself to the theater for 15-20 years…

D. Ok, but who should be deciding whether the person is in shape, and whether he is able to go on stage? Do you have a collegial body that has such powers? Do you have an Artistic Board?

P. At this point, all the decisions are made by two people: Acting Director of the Ballet Company Yuri Fateyev and his Deputy Tatyana Bessarabova. The Theater's press release says that when these issues are decided, the opinions of coaches are taken into account. In reality, this is not the case. I can only recall a few times when something was discussed by a "council" consisting of the management and repetiteurs. For example, when the fate of the ballet soloist Yelena Sheshina was being decided. At that time, Yuri Valeryevich gathered the repetiteurs and discussed with them her firing (in the end, he still did what he thought was necessary.) We would like to have an evaluation once a year, conducted by a committee in which there would be some independent representatives---in order to reach a balanced and maximally independent decision.

D. We started talking about grants---what are the components that make up the earnings of a corps dancer?

P. First of all, the base salary---it is, if I am not mistaken, from 10 to 18 thousand [rubles per month net of taxes], if I am not mistaken. The distribution of the grant depends on the person. If it is an artist who satisfies the management, then he receives the base rate.

D. What is the base rate?

P. The base rate is the part of the grant that is paid for performing a certain part of the repertory. It is sort of a price list. Each part, from the big ones to the smallest ones, even "walking", has its price. The waltz in "Swan Lake" has one price, and the parts of the swans have another price. Let's say that swans are "priced" at three thousand rubles, that is, this is their base rate. However, if the person does not quite satisfy the management, then they deduct a certain percentage from this base rate, and he might receive two thousand or one and a half. If a girl is occupied in each act and is liked by the management, she receives one sum. If she is not liked, then she receives another sum.

D. Does there exist an official document which describes the rules of how the size of the compensation changes?

P. Such a document does not exist---we brought this up as well. The regulatory document says that the grant is disbursed according to how occupied a dancer is. So if a person goes on stage, he receives his money according to the base rate. It says that money can be deducted only after consulting the repetiteurs and only after issuing an official memo to this effect. None of the people who we asked were given the memo when the money was deducted from them. Moreover, sometimes the money gets deducted before going on stage---i.e., an artist has not gone on stage yet and has not had a chance to make any mistakes, but 20% has already been deducted from him.

D. Why? Does this get explained somehow?

P. This is a difficult matter. No, it is not explained. I think (perhaps I am mistaken) that it happens because there is not enough money for everyone. There is a certain total amount of the grant for the theater overall and, in particular, for the ballet. This amount is fixed, it cannot be changed. See, "Swan Lake" has 32 swans, and if everyone gets paid, for example, three thousand rubles, then there will not be enough money for everyone. So they started deducting certain percentages. I am astounded: why is it impossible to revise this system? To arrange it so that people are not offended---currently, they are not being told why they are being fined. The grounds can be anything: you are too tall, or your knee does not fully extend (when that knee has perhaps recently been operated on), and so on. Much is arbitrary and subjective here. We discussed with Fateyev the fact that this system is not well thought-out. Certainly we are not talking about paying everyone the same. But then they should pay according to categories, and not have this humiliating system of fines.

D. Does the company support you?

P. I think that unofficially, the majority of the company is supporting us; however, of course they are very afraid to get up and say something directly: "I say something, and then I will be left out of a tour, left out of performances, and be left with only the base salary."

D. Valery Gergiev responded to your letter by saying that "the anxiety of artists, especially the young ones, is related to the fact that they need to live somewhere. And even the most generous salaries do not result in favorable possibilities at the Mariinsky or at the Bolshoi, or in orchestras, where young musicians are unable to save enough money for an apartment in a year or two."

P. I did not quite understand his answer. The thing is, we did not write about apartments in our letter, and also we did not only write about money. We also wrote about quality. Yes, good work should be compensated well. But when a person is forced to think about how much he will make this month, artistic quality suffers. The atmosphere at the theater has changed a lot: experienced artists do not want to help their young colleagues, because they fear losing their chances to go on stage. I told this to Yuri Valeryevich, and he responded to me: "Dasha, it has been like this all the time."

D. What do you mean?

P. When a girl joins the company, it is sometimes difficult to learn, as we say, "the order", from one rehearsal. When I started out, the older artists never refused to help the younger ones. Now sometimes they do.

D. Do you realize that people can reproach you for being preoccupied with your own situation? In fact, V. Gergiev has already done this quite directly, having said that you are worried about your rare appearances on stage.

P. It does cause me pain---I really do worry that I do not have many performances. And I really would like to go on stage more often. But I cannot imagine how my union activities could assist me in this matter. I never went to Gergiev to ask for any parts. I am embarrassed to do this. I do not know how to advertise myself, and was not bold enough to do this. Although I thought about it many times. I love my work---for me it is not only work, it is a very significant part of my life. But what I am doing now does not have any bearing on my personal situation. Not once---since April---did I say anything about my personal problems. By the way, in October I had eight performances (two premieres among them), and I am absolutely delighted. Although I do not know what will happen tomorrow…

D. Why do you think several leading artists left for other theaters?

P. Under Makhar Vaziev, artists also used to leave the company. This happens due to various reasons. I am concerned about something else: young artists, yesterday's graduates of the Academy of Russian Ballet, do not want to join our company.

D. Why---is there any answer to this quesion?

P. I think that the reason is again financial. Last season, young artists that joined the theater, received a base salary of 15 thousand rubles. That's it. Unfortunately, many preferred to join other companies. When I was graduating from the Academy, I could not believe that I was being hired by the Mariinsky Theater. Back then, it was a huge honor. And now young dancers do not elect to join our theater. And soon this will impact the quality of the performances.

D. By the way, if we are talking about quality---how do you rate the stage of the Concert Hall where, judging from the press release, there have been 11 ballet performances this season?

P. The Concert Hall is not equipped for ballet---perhaps something special needs to be staged for that venue. It does not have curtains, it is not equipped to have sets, it has a bad floor. For example, we dance the second act from Giselle there. And of course we are disappointed. We would like to live through everything, to create some impression of a performance---but there it is impossible in principle: the spectators are sitting right above you, and on the side, and behind. And artists feel very awkward.

D. Returning to the letter, I would like to ask what resolution you see to this situation?

P. I would very much like that they pay attention to our letter, without any hysterics. Without "wow, how dare they!" We think our letter is very properly written, and we ask to sort out what's happening. We do not ask to dismiss these people and those, and to replace them with some others. Our goal is not a war. We ask to sort things out. It's a cry for help---much has been lost already, unfortunately. We would like to at least correct something---rather than take revenge. Revenge is not the point. The point is that there should be normal working conditions, and that artists should come to the theater to engage in artistic endeavors, rather than think why we are left without a day off again and so on. I think that the direct responsibility of the administration is to ensure that the atmosphere in the theater be conducive to artistic activities, rather than hinder them.

D. Do you think that everything that you were talking about directly influences the quality of performances?

P. Yes, I think so. And when spectators come to the theater having paid a lot of money for their tickets, and get a show of questionable quality, I am ashamed.

D. But wouldn't you agree that this is not directly related to money---there exist dancers who won't dance better even if you pay them a million...

P. Still, at the Mariinsky people used to always come for the performers, and now this is disappearing.

D. This is a different topic… Perhaps it is necessary to purchase some stars?

P. No, I am confident that it is necessary to grow our own. And it is necessary to give people a chance and to help them.

The entire system at the Mariinsky is rotten to the core. The top guy has an enormous conflict of interest. As the AD of the opera, he should be (and is!) interested in putting all the resources and effort into the opera and the orchestra. But as the GM of the entire company, he is supposed to pay attention to the ballet and opera companies in equal measure---perhaps more attention to the ballet which I suspect brings in more revenue. And clearly he does not. Knowing all this, no high-caliber ballet administrator or choreographer in his/her right mind would ever accept an offer to become the AD of the ballet. So trying to conduct a search for a ballet AD, as was proposed above, is doomed to failure in the current circumstances. Mariinsky Ballet's only hope is for Gergiev to resign or be dismissed from the position of the General Manager, or for the ballet to separate from the opera and become a stand-alone company. Neither one of these two scenarios is likely to happen, unfortunately.

I would not split hairs over categorization in ranking. Inside the company, there are only two salary rates: soloist and everyone else. Then within those categories salaries are individualized. There is more discussion in the West, than in Petersburg, about what rank a given dancer has -- "is she in the corps? Is she a first soloist? Is she a coryphee?" Internally that is not such an issue as it is here -- and as I think I noted before and others have also noticed, the Western program rankings on some tours may bear no relationship to the dancer's actual ranking inside the company. When I interviewed Fateyev this June, he said Kampa had been hired as a coryphee. But she's listed as a Principal or soloist on tour and a corps de ballet member on the website -- none of that matters really except how she's viewed internally by him in comparison to the other dancers (which also dictates salary levels at least for the Russians) as that will also determine what roles she's given, if they give her a personal pedagogue (none, as of October, that I"m aware of) and so forth.

The dancers seem to be well aware of the five rankings from the website. For example, Tereshkina recites them in this interview (around 3:15): http://www.1tvnet.ru...e-balerini.html, and lists some privileges that come with the rank of prima ballerina---specifically, being able to dance only the leads.

Are you saying that Fateyev personally decides individual salary levels, roles, teacher assignments, etc, without any regard for the ranks posted on the website? If so, it seems like a recipe for disaster. What's the point then of having these ranks?

As to the incredible promotion of Kim Kimin from trainee to first soloist just at the time when the article and the company's response to it started receiving some publicity---I'm sure that's simply a coincidence.

Applying vigorously in this instance appears to have included methods most would not condone, don't forget that the sitting director of ENB was sacked to make way for her and her actual appointment seems to have contravened UK employment law. As this thread is about Nikolai Tsiskaridze, I suggest you look elsewhere on the web for the information on this that is readily available.

I haven't found anything to support these extremely serious accusations. Could you please cite press reports supporting these?

More reactions from various signers, from a newspaper called "Vzglyad",

http://www.vz.ru/cul.../23/608449.html

While it certainly looks like Tsiskaridze has done some despicable things here, the explanations of some of the signers look quite bizarre. For example, in a previous interview (translated above) Lavrovsky said that Tsiskaridze brought the letter to him, and now he says that he didn't read it. Why?? The reaction of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater press person is very strange. Zakharov's new explanation is also very strange.

On November 9, it came out that a letter existed that proposed to replace the current director of the Bolshoi Theater Anatoly Iksanov with Nikolay Tsiskaridze. The information about the existence of this letter, as well as about the fact that it was signed by a group of famous Russian arts personalities and addressed to the President of RF [Note: RF = Russian Federation], appeared in the blog of the President's International Cooperation Representative and the former Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoi. The entry said that among the signers there were managers of other theaters, i.e., people who do not have any formal relationship with the Bolshoi Theater. The author of the entry did not reveal the source of the information, he only remarked that "no one among the signers made any secret of the letter."

Mikhail Shvydkoi shared with the readers his bewilderment regarding this document, remarking that the situation was unprecedented, and expressed obvious reproach towards the participants of this endeavor, although he remarked that they were his idols. "It is unlikely that the signers do not understand what a tremendous job Iksanov has done, pulling the Bolshoi from the ruins---both literally and figuratively. It is unlikely that they do not understand that Nikolay Tsiskaridze is unable to manage such a complex team as the Bolshoi Theater," wrote Shvydkoi, supposing further that the signers were driven by some other motives.

An amusing nuance was the fact that this entry appeared in the evening of November 9, whereas in the morning of the same day the Minister of Culture Medinsky had announced the decision of the Ministry of Culture to renew the contract of the current director of the Bolshoi Theater Anatoly Iksanov.

The information related by Shvydkoi was confirmed when the situation was commented upon personally by some of the signers. Gennady Khazanov confirmed in an interview to "Izvestiya" that his signature was contained under the document in question. However, in Khazanov's opinion, there were no invectives against Anatoly Iksanov in the letter, and it was written only in order to support Nikolay Tsiskaridze's candidacy to the spot of the General Director of the Bolshoi Theater that was being vacated. Another famous signer, Oleg Tabakov, the Artistic Director of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, justified his support of Tsiskaridze's candidacy in an interview to "The New Izvestiya" by the fact that the latter spoke a lot about the blunders made during the recent reconstruction of the Bolshoi which was concluded in 2011. According to Tabakov, a person who speaks about shortcomings of the property management, can lay a claim to the position of the director.

However, the full list of those whose names are under the document, remained unknown for awhile---as well as the text of the letter. Journalist and TV anchor Tina Kandelaki testified in her blog that some even said that there was no such letter and that the information about it is false.

The situation was finally clarified on November 21, when Tina Kandelaki, who is famous for her concerned attitude towards the fate of the Bolshoi, published in her blog the scan of the letter with clearly visible text, the names of the signers, and their handwritten signatures. It came out that the letter was signed, besides Khazanov and Tabakov, by 10 more people: actor Vladimir Andreyev, coach Irina Viner, theater directors Galina Volchek and Mark Zakharov, a Bolshoi Theater teacher Yuri Vladimirov, a Bolshoi Theater ballet master-repetiteur Mikhail Lavrovsky, the director of the Moscow State Choreographic Academy and ballerina Marina Leonova, opera primadonna Yelena Obraztsova, actress Alisa Freindlich, and tenor Zurab Sotkilava. Kandelaki is not revealing the source of this exclusive story; however, there are no good reasons to doubt the authenticity of the document.

It turned out that the real content of the document does not quite match the recent statements of the signers. The text clearly says that "the theater needs changes, which must begin already at the end of December 2012 with the replacement of the General Director A.G. Iksanov who has been occupying this position since 2000." Taking this passage into account, it seems impossible to say that the letter is not directed against the current director. At the same time, the letter entirely lacks Oleg Tabakov's considerations regarding possible property management capabilities of Nikolay Tsiskaridze: as arguments supporting his candidacy, the letter cites only artistic merits, his high standing in Russian ballet, and the fact that he is emblematic of the Bolshoi Theater of the 1990s-2000s.

After the letter was published, some of the signers retracted their signatures, in fact admitting that they were not familiar with the text they signed, and were not aware of the situation with the management positions at the Bolshoi. Mark Zakharov and Yelena Obraztsova wrote apologetic letters to Anatoly Iksanov. Mark Zakharov said that he was not informed about the proposal to relieve Iksanov from managing the theater that was contained in the letter. Yelena Obraztsova also explained what happened as a misunderstanding: as it turned out, she did not know that Iksanov will keep working at the theater. "I was told that your contract had not been renewed," she wrote to Iksanov in the letter of apology. Soon, Zurab Sotkilava also joined the ranks of those retracting their signatures.

The press office of the Bolshoi Theater, which the "Vzglyad" newspaper contacted for comments on these events, reacted quite unequivocally. "Of course, in this situation we cannot comment on the actions of the people who signed the letter," explained the head of the press office Yekaterina Novikova to the correspondent of the "Vzglyad" newspaper. "Now Sotkilava is also saying that he was deceived. It is obvious that the letter itself, as well as the new wave of resentment against the leadership of the Bolshoi, raised by the texts of Tina Kandelaki---all of it is the consequence of the fight of the artist whose career is ending, for the position of the General Director."

The head of the Department of Creative Planning of the Bolshoi Theater Mikhail Fikhtengoltz is not inclined to give this story much significance. "The problem is absolutely contrived, and the whole situation is, honestly speaking, absurd from the beginning," he noted in a conversation with a "Vzglyad" correspondent. "The theater itself and its leadership has nothing to do with any of this." In his opinion, the correct thing to do is not to comment and to be above the incomprehensible fight for power which played out during the last few days.

Very different comments arrive from the people who signed the letter.

From the words of a Ballet Master-Repetiteur of the Bolshoi Thatear Mikhail Lavrovsky it follows that the process of collecting the signatures was a personal initiative of Nikolay Tsiskaridze. "We are very pleased with Iksanov," explained Lavrovsky to "Vzglyad". "However, we heard rumours that the leadership of the theater will be changed, that after the New Year everybody will leave. And in fact we often see how people who have no relation to the arts whatsoever are appointed to leadership positions in theaters. Therefore, when Kolya told us that he would like to put forward his candidacy to compete for the position and asked if we would support him, we agreed. Why not? He is a remarkable artist. If he is able to be a manager at the same level, great. The idea came from him. I signed the letter because I respect Kolya. I did not read the text of the letter because I trust Kolya. I only asked him: this is not against the management? He said no. So I said, if this is simply to help you, then sure. And now it appears that this was a frame-up."

However, Lavrovsky partially agrees with Nikolay Tsiskaridze's critical comments regarding the results of the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater. According to the ballet master, for him the Bolshoi after the reconstruction is a completely different theater, not the one that he was used to and in which he worked for many years.

"There was no intention to remove Iksanov, God forbid. This was all invented by Shvydkoi, most likely" -- this is how the actions of Oleg Tabakov were commented on by Alla Shpolyanskaya, an official at the press office of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater headed by Tabakov. "He was offered and he signed, just like Zakharov, Obraztsova, and Sotkilava. Tsiskaridze is a young and energetic man, however, he will soon be 40, so why not head up the theater? Oleg Pavlovich says that he is not retracting anything and is not hiding. He repeated several times that he had already said everything and is not going to say anything new on this topic."

One of the signers who apologized to Anatoly Iksanov, the Artistic Director of the Lenkom Theater Mark Zakharov, admitted in a conversation with "Vzglyad" that during the collection of signatures he acted spontaneously and not in a completely balanced way.

"I think it is not necessary to appeal for help to the President every time. This is an unnecessary demonstration of our powerlessness and inability to navigate the laws of our country", said Zakharov to "Vzglyad". "In my case there was some emotional pressure related to the names. They started to list the names of quite respected and intelligent people, such as Tabakov… And I agreed, because I was not proposing anything bad, only good things. It was about the possibility of considering such-and-such person for such-and-such position. As to the part regarding Iksanov, I was not warned about it. Generally speaking, meddling in such things over the phone is not a very good thing. I am sorry that it turned out this way."

However, to be fair, it must be noted that not everyone was in the same situation as Mikhail Lavrovsky and Mark Zakharov.

Honored Coach of Russia Irina Viner, who also signed the document, told "Vzglyad" that she had read the text. "How could I sign it without having seen the text? I am not insane," she responded to a question from the correspondent of "Vzglyad". She also confirmed that she actually deems Nikolay Tsiskaridze to be an appropriate candidate for the post of the director of the theater.

As to Nikolay Tsiskaridze, he refused to comment.

As we noted above, previously Tsiskaridze criticized the reconstruction of the Bolshoi which occurred from 2005 until 2011. He found significant shortcomings both in the redesign of the backstage and rehearsal spaces, declaring that they made the artists' work more difficult, and in the aesthetics of the new interior design, pointing out, in particular, that there were no bronze candelabra left in the theater. A quote from Tsiskaridze's interview to "Interfaks" resonated across the media space: "Everything that they have done with the Bolshoi Theater is vandalism." Soon after, a conflict began between the opponent of vandalism and the leadership of the Boshoi (which went on approximately from the end of October of 2011 until mid-January of 2012.) The contract of the artist with the theater was under the threat of being prematurely terminated; however, in the end the management made the decision to retain Tsiskaridze at the Bolshoi as a teacher.

Someone who dances with the incredible natural gift of Tskskaridze deserves to be heard, however odd his remarks might seem, given the depth of this gifts

Divo is FINE -- maybe he's wrong sometimes, but please let him speak.

No one is denying his right to speak. In fact, he speaks freely and regularly, using every conceivable and inconceivable media outlet, including a show called "Our Favorite Animals" and a Russian version of "Dancing with the Stars" where he has been a judge since 2006. Interviews with him abound on TV and in print. His media exposure easily exceeds that of all the other Russian ballet dancers combined.

Yet in this case, he has gone out of his way to avoid public limelight: the letter was not intended to be published; he avoided affixing his own signature to it; and even now that the letter has become pubic, he has refused to comment.

did he really think 1. There wouldn't be retractions? 2. That the retractions wouldn't go public? 3. That the signees would be too embarrassed to retract?

All the reporting suggests that the letter was not intended to become public. That it did appears to be an accident.