Bolshoi Ballet acid attack solved, real men arrested

The Moscow police have unveiled the names of all suspects involved in the acid attack committed against artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater, Sergei Filin. The crime was ordered by Filin's fellow choreographer, ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko. Dmitrichenko had two accomplices - executor Igor Zarutsky and driver Andrey Lipatov. The perpetrators made the tool of the crime - acid - themselves.

All the detainees currently testify. The soloist of the Bolshoi Ballet, Pavel Dmitrichenko, admitted that he organized and planned everything himself. However, nothing has been said about the specific reasons that prompted the artist to go on offense. The police only said that Filin and Dmitrichenko were on hostile terms with each other.

"I arranged it all myself, although not to the extent how it happened," Dmitrichenko told the police.

The man, who ordered the notorious crime, comes from Moscow. He was born into a family of artists of the State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble. In 2002, he graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and was admitted to the ballet troupe of the Bolshoi.

Dmitrichenko is a winner of international competitions; one of his brightest performances is the role of Ivan the Terrible. The artist was detained on March 5th, after a search in his the apartment. The executor of the crime, the attacker, was arrested - a few hours earlier, in the suburban town of Stupino. Igor Zarutsky, a 35-year-old native of the Ryazan region, acknowledged that he produced acid himself, according to the instructions that he found on the Internet. As it turned out, the process did not require expensive equipment to make acid in home conditions. 

The third detainee, Andrey Lipatov, does not deny that he took part in the acid attack, although he played a modest role in the crime, as he said. "I was asked to take it to the address, which I did," - said Lipatov at the interrogation. "I did not see the attack. We drove away before it happened," he said.

Law enforcement officials found the attackers with the help of billing: mobile operators provided the list of all calls that were made from mobile devices in the area of the crime scene. After analyzing the calls, detectives found the perpetrators easily.

"All the detainees actively cooperate with investigation," officials said.

At the moment, the suspects remain in custody.

Another prominent dancer of the Bolshoi ballet, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, was also questions within the scope of the investigation.  

The acid attack against the choreographer was committed in the evening on January 17th. A stranger called Sergei Filin, and when the artist turned to the man, the attacker threw acid in the artist's face. Security cameras recorded the assailant. Having studied the footage, the police came to conclusion that the attacker was not acting alone.

Sergei Filin was seriously injured as a result of the attack and spent a few days in intensive care. Filin has been discharged from the hospital, but it will take him a long time to recover.

Anton Frolov

Pravda.Ru

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