MOSCOW, January 18 (Itar-Tass) — Bolshoi Theatre Ballet Artistic Director Sergei Filin has third-degree burns of his face and eyes, Bolshoi Theatre press secretary Katerina Novikova told Itar-Tass. She has visited Filin in the hospital.
The theatre director was attacked at about 23:40 Moscow time on Thursday, she said. When he was coming to his home, an unknown masked man splashed acid into his face.
Two hours before the incident, she saw Sergei at a party marking Stanislavsky's jubilee at the Chekhov Theatre, Novikova said. "We greeted each other. And now I have just visited him in the hospital." He is conscious. His mother and his wife are with him. Many from the theatre administration and ballet dancers have also visited Filin.
According to Novikova, there were repeated threats addressed to Filin in recent time. A few days ago, some hacked his site in the Facebook network and placed information meant to discredit the artistic director in the eyes of the Bolshoi Theatre directorate. In addition, tires of Filin's car often were punctured, and other nasty things were done against him. But, despite those things, it was hard to suppose that it would come to such a crime, she said.
The press secretary cited his doctors as saying that it would take Filin at least six months to recover.