Moscow Ballet Dancer And Two Others Arrested In Filin's Acid Attack

Pavel Dmitrichenko and Sergei Filin

Suspect believed victim was keeping his girlfriend from lucrative leading ballet roles and planned the attack on Filin.

By H. Nelson Goodson

March 6, 2013

Moscow, Russia - Police in Moscow arrested three men on Tuesday, including a Moscow ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, 29, who mastermind the January acid attack of Sergie Filin, 42, the artistic director of the Bolshol Ballet. Dmitrichenko confessed to police that he planned the attack, but didn't expect it to go to extent that it occurred. 

Dmitrichenko believed that Filin was skipping his girlfriend, Anzhelina Vorontsova from getting ballet roles to extend her career.

He hired Yuri Zarutzky, 35, and Andrey Dimitry Lipatov, 31, to carry out the sulfuric acid attack that left Filin with third-degree burns to his face and intensive damage to his eyes.

On January 17, Zarutzky attacked Filin with acid when he was getting out of his vehicle near his residence in Moscow. The suspect threw sulfuric acid in Filin's face and then fled.

Nearby video surveillance camera caught the attack. Filin underwent 8 surgeries and had multiple plastic surgeries. He received intensive damage to his eyes, but won't lose his eyesight.