Sergei Filin has had 23 eye operations since January attack and will need many more, his father-in-law tells dancer trial
Sergei Filin, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, will need surgical intervention on his eyes "for the rest of his life" after being splashed in the face with acid, the Moscow court investigating the attack heard on Thursday.
A day after Filin gave testimony at the trial of Pavel Dmitrichenko, the Bolshoi soloist accused of ordering the attack, his wife and father-in-law took the stand.
Filin's father-in-law, Alexander Prorvich, said life had been changed forever for the family after an assailant threw acid in Filin's face outside his apartment block in January.
"Our world has been completely turned upside down," said Prorvich. "We used to live a completely different life, caring for our children and grandchildren and with great hope for the future. Now our life is full of endless pain and endless journeys."
The ballet director has had 23 operations on his eyes since the attack, mainly in Germany. He plans to fly back from Moscow in the coming days for another operation.
"I asked the doctors how long the operations would need to go on for, whether it would be another year, or two years," said Prorvich. "But they said to me that they will probably have to go on for the rest of his life." He added that Filin's sister planned to donate cornea tissue. It is not known whether Filin will ever fully regain his sight.
Dmitrichenko is on trial alongside Yuri Zarutsky, who is said to have made and thrown the acid, and Andrei Lipatov, the getaway driver. All three face up to 12 years in prison if found guilty.
On Wednesday, Filin told the court that Dmitrichenko frequently threatened him due to the conviction that he and his partner Anzhelina Vorontsova, also a dancer at the theatre, were unfairly neglected for major roles and promotions. Filin broke down in tears after being questioned directly by Dmitrichenko, who insinuated that the artistic director was in conflict with many at the theatre and that he handed out roles to ballerinas who slept with him.
Filin said that allegations he had "intimate relations" with the Bolshoi's newest star ballerina, Olga Smirnova, were completely false, and that he had been such a strong advocate of her rise to the top only because of her talent.
"My wife has had intimate relations with me for the past 10 years, but she never became such a star," said Filin.
Filin's wife Maria Prorvich, who is a dancer in the corps de ballet, also took the stand on Thursday. She said Filin did not always discuss work conflicts with her, but that she had been aware of the bad blood between her husband and Dmitrichenko.
"Sergei told me that Pavel spoke to him in a not very polite tone, and accused him of things that were untrue," she said. She was not asked about the allegations of affairs.
A number of ballet stars and Bolshoi managers have been called as witnesses by both the prosecution and defence, in a case that looks likely to pull back the curtain further on the intrigue and vicious infighting that have afflicted Russia's most famous theatre.
The trial continues next Tuesday.
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