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Bolshoi Ballet acid attack: Russian dancer jailed for six years

Bolshoi's artistic director, Sergei Filin, who was the victim of the acid attack.
Bolshoi's artistic director, Sergei Filin, who was the victim of the acid attack.Vasily Maximov / AFP - Getty Images, file
By Maria Tsvetkova and Steve Gutterman, Reuters

Russian dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko was sentenced to six years in prison on Tuesday for his role in an acid attack that nearly blinded the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet.

Bolshoi's artistic director, Sergei Filin, who was the victim of the acid attack.
Bolshoi's artistic director, Sergei Filin, who was the victim of the acid attack.Vasily Maximov / AFP - Getty Images, file

A Moscow judge announced the sentence after convicting 29-year-old Dmitrichenko and two co-defendants in the attack last January on Sergei Filin, which exposed toxic rivalries at the Bolshoi Theatre and damaged its reputation.

Yuri Zarutsky, who admitted to throwing acid in Filin's face, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Andrei Lipatov, who drove Zarutsky to the scene, was sentenced to four years.

The attack on the night of Jan. 17 badly injured Filin's eyesight.

Dmitrichenko acknowledged he wanted Filin roughed up and had given Zarutsky the go-ahead to hit him, but said he had not wanted acid to be used. He pleaded not guilty.

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Maria Tsvetkova and Steve Gutterman, Reuters