In May 2016, Dmitrichenko was released from the colony on parole. He did not admit his guilt in the acid attack on Sergei Filin, but called the case fabricated. The version that Pavel took revenge on the artistic director of the ballet for the oppression of his girlfriend Anzhelina Vorontsova did not play out in court.
Shortly after his release, in an interview with the BBC, Pavel Dmitrichenko did not rule out the possibility of returning to the Bolshoi Theater.
I have a lot of proposals, but I still consider the Bolshoi Theater my home, and the director officially said that I could safely return to the Bolshoi Theater. It was not an official invitation, but I can apply on a general basis. I am in shape, I have a lot of experience, I worked on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater for 10 years, - said the dancer.
According to him, he actively kept fit in the colony. And at the end of September, according to MK, Dmitrichenko began classes with teacher Vladimir Nikonov, to whom he attends morning classes at the Bolshoi Theater.
It is impossible to get a permanent pass to the theater without the knowledge of Vladimir Urin, General Director. In a recent interview with the British magazine Dancing Times, Urin said: “There are rumors that Pavel Dmitrichenko is returning to the Bolshoi, and this will not be an easy situation. However, after 3 years in prison, he is no longer the same dancer, physically and emotionally. Therefore, the main question is whether he will be able to return the form that is necessary for the dancer of the Bolshoi? Big is work, and it should be built on professional principles.”
In the troupe, the appearance of Dmitrichenko within the walls of the theater was rather favorably treated. But the pros are well aware of how difficult it will be for a dancer to regain their former shape. The same Nikolai Tsiskaridze not so long ago expressed great doubts about the happy scenario for Pavel Dmitrichenko. But what if? Pavel has a fighting character. In any case, he will return to the profession. The scenes of many theaters are open to him. But he's aiming for the Big One.
P.S. On September 21, 2015, Anzhelina Vorontsova married Mikhail Tatarnikov, chief conductor and musical director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. There she is now on staff as a leading ballerina.
Pavel Dmitrichenko. Scene from the ballet "Ivan the Terrible" staged by Yuri Grigorovich
The opera part of the Bolshoi Theater troupe called the dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko (recall, he spent three years in prison on charges of organizing an assassination attempt on the former artistic director of the ballet troupe Sergei Filin) to head the creative union of BT workers.
Pavel told us about his plans in a new capacity, as well as about his views on the current theater in an exclusive interview.
- So, Pavel, you were elected the head of the trade union, if I correctly name the position ...
Chairman of the creative trade union of workers of the Bolshoi Theater.
- A few words - what will be your duties?
This is important for the artists themselves: apparently, internal problems have ripened if they turned to me for help ... I am now far from any of their internal problems, but the meeting was two weeks ago, they told me about these problems, and now they need my help from a legal point of view.
Because the management of the theater, at times, does not comply with its own accepted rules, which were prescribed in the collective agreement. And now there are many problems in the opera troupe. And I am always open for help, people supported me in difficult times, and I am also ready to support my colleagues as chairman.
- Did you continue to be an employee of the Bolshoi Theater all this time? Did this line break?
Interrupted. The trade union is a different structure, it is independent, and is more of a supervisory body over the employer. As for the theater, I did not return to it for one simple reason: I have not seen such a boorish attitude towards artists for a long time. I promised myself that I would return to the profession only under the guidance of Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
Yes, but you went out at the Bolshoi in the summer at a concert, in a number from Swan Lake with the part of Prince Siegfried ...
The fact that I went on this stage can be called a return to the profession. But I repeat, I will return to the theater only under the guidance of Tsiskaridze, since only he has experience in communicating with the team, he has great taste - who to invite from ballet and opera directors ...
Only with him is the flourishing of the Bolshoi Theater possible. It's my opinion.
- So, what exactly happened that you were called?
The rights of artists began to be infringed. I was lying with a temperature, I didn’t know myself, but the artists initiated a meeting, and just yesterday I was informed that I had been elected. And now I'm ready to help them.
Trade unions in our country are historically not as strong as, say, in the West. It was more of a decoration. But your trade union will have real power?
Yes, our trade unions are not at all the same as European ones. But if trade unions were usually headed by people dependent on the employer, then I am just an independent person. I have no interests and fears regarding the management of the Bolshoi Theatre. Therefore, I will strictly act within the framework of the law, strictly within the framework of the collective agreement, which the employers themselves accepted. There are a lot of shortcomings. I know about them. Now we are inciting statistics and will demand the implementation of legislative acts in the area of labor legislation.
- So what is the nature of the problem?
The main problem is that the employees of the opera company, on the basis of the contract, do not receive the work that the employer is obliged to provide them. That is, it is easier for the management of the Bolshoi to invite someone from the outside to the contract than to involve their employees. And we will ensure that people have jobs. It's no joke: the full-time employees of the opera troupe are sitting without work!
- Does the ballet troupe have the same problem?
I haven't met with union members yet, but I think the problem is everywhere. Therefore, in the next two weeks, I will meet with the ballet troupe and discuss their problems with them. Either way, I'm ready to stand up for them. I will gladly help.
Remember, the Moscow Art Theater at one time was divided into Chekhov and Gorky precisely because the troupe was too bloated. Isn't there something like this in the Bolshoi?
No, at the Bolshoi the troupe is not exaggerated. Moreover, it is prescribed by the employer himself how much he is obliged to give work to his employees, and how much he is not obliged to. And our task is neither to fight, nor to build any barricades there, but simply to achieve the rule of law. Because at the moment the collective agreement is being violated. This is a violation of the law. We will be in dialogue with...
- ... with General Director Urin?
Yes. Dialogue about how he complies with labor standards. In the name of Urin there will be appeals on urgent problems. If the leadership goes to dialogue - hears, admits its violations, then the problem will be quickly resolved.
- And if not?
If not, then the commission is going to continue, if we don’t decide through it, we will go to court. Why the guys called me: naturally, people have a fear of the employer. I have no fear and never have. That's why I became chairman.
- That is, in the near future you will recover, and will hold meetings?
First, we will notify the higher organization - the trade union of cultural workers that I have been elected. Then we will notify the employer, that is, the general director Urin officially (I think he already knows). And then let's get started, that's all ...
- Have you talked to Urin lately? Everything is fine?
The last time we talked was last summer, it was normal communication, no counters, no problems…
- And can you - this is of interest to many - go on stage as a dancer?
Well, last summer I went on stage, then an injury happened - I treated my knee for a long time. Now the treatment is still in process, and my profession as a dancer has been put on pause for the time being. But I didn't officially finish my career.
- A pause, but temporary?
Today, yes, temporary.
- How difficult was it to keep yourself in shape at the time of imprisonment and after? Is it theoretically possible?
Theoretically, this is impossible. And I couldn't keep myself in shape. It was difficult then to enter this form. The spirit was enough. But you can't fool the body. When this entry into the form took place, of course, there was a wild pain in the ligaments, in the joints. Was on painkillers. But the goal was set, and the goal was achieved.
- But back: according to your forecast, the problem of the opera troupe can be solved?
According to my forecast, any problem can be solved through dialogue. If two people sit down - one is not stupid and the second is not stupid - they will come to a single decision. They will always find a way. And if the interlocutor is dominated by some kind of ambition, some kind of significance, a desire to show that you are nobody to me, but I can do everything myself, then, of course, it will be difficult to agree on something.
But I hope that all smart people will find a way out ... because when the team is dissatisfied, it can spill over beyond the theater. We will try to resolve this internally. Calmly. Quiet. Legally correct.
The last question - in what capacity is the Bolshoi Theater now? He's on the rise, he's stable, what's wrong with him?
If you take twelve years of my work, I can say briefly: it used to be better. I have something to compare. This is without going into details. What I saw during the years of my work at the Bolshoi (meaning both the opera and ballet repertoire) was better. What is now is not the best period of the Bolshoi's life.
- Have you seen Nureyev?
I saw snippets. In short: a ballet created on a scandal. Although the guys all worked 100%, they are great, they work like that in any situation, the Bolshoi troupe is considered the best in the whole world. And always will be. And what about the essence of the performance - the taste and color ... someone likes a naked man on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, someone considers it enchanting art. Someone thinks that Bolshoy is a pure classic.
And I think that the stage of the Bolshoi is not an experimental stage, these are established canons ... the dancer Nuriev himself became famous not for what the directors tried to show, but for his talent. And the personal life of each of us is our personal life, there is no need to show it on stage.
Choreographer Sergei Filin interfered in the personal life of the ballerina Anzhelina Vorontsova. He demanded from her a break with Pavel Dmitrichenko, hinting that only after that development would begin in her career. Angelina Vorontsova herself announced this on.
"He said that Dmitrichenko was an uncomfortable character, that if I was with him, there would be no promotion," Interfax quoted Angelina Vorontsova as saying. In addition, the ballerina noted, Filin had long been offended by her because she had chosen the Bolshoi Theater, and not the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater.
Vorontsova stressed that when Filin moved to the Bolshoi Theater, her situation changed: she was removed from the Paris tour and began to give solo parts less often. At the same time, the ballerina emphasized that there were no big conflicts in the theater. “You can call it conflicts, but these are more working moments,” the former ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater explained.
At the same time, she stressed that her partner Pavel Dmitrichenko, who is accused of organizing an acid attack on Filin, never showed aggression.
"Pasha is an ambitious person, he could stand up for the person who was offended. He did not show aggression," she said.
Also in court, former Bolshoi Theater Premier Nikolai Tsiskaridze testified. Tsiskaridze admitted that he did not believe in the guilt of Pavel Dmitrichenko.
Nikolai Tsiskaridze told in court that he had repeatedly been an unwitting witness provoked by Filin. "Once I witnessed an ugly scene that happened in the corridor. Sergey Yuryevich Filin patronized one performance, he had a couple. But Grigorovich chose Dmitrichenko and Anna Nikulina. Dmitrichenko was called to Filin. Pasha flew out of there, scolding followed him. Sergey Yuryevich spoke very ugly words: "I'll show you, I'll pull it on," Nikolai Tsiskaridze said in court.
Nikolai Tsiskaridze recalled that he had worked at the Bolshoi Theater for 21 years and had known Filin since 1987. He admitted that he considers Filin a brilliant dancer. In his opinion, becoming the choreographer of the Bolshoi Theater troupe, Filin has changed a lot. In particular, he immediately told people who had known him for many years to call him only Sergei Yuryevich. Filin was also against the appointment of actor Pavel Dmitrichenko to the post of head of the trade union, despite the fact that the latter always stood up for the rights of actors.
According to investigators, the attack on Filin was organized by ballet dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko. The executor of the criminal plan was Yuri Zarutsky, and 32-year-old unemployed from the Moscow region Andrey Lipatov drove him to the crime scene.
At the same time, the attack on the ballet master of the Bolshoi Theater Sergei Filin was originally planned for the end of autumn 2012, but unsuccessful.
Immediately after his arrest, Dmitrichenko testified that he offered 35-year-old previously convicted Yuri Zarutsky to beat the choreographer for 50 thousand rubles. Zarutsky agreed.
The attack on Sergei Filin took place in Moscow on Troitskaya Street on January 17, 2013. Owl was splashed with acid in the face in the parking lot near the house. The attack resulted in a partial loss of vision.
From the dossier "MK": There is such a case: when, after the capture of the maniac Ionisyan (Mosgaz), a search was made in the apartment of Anna Akhmatova’s literary secretary Anatoly Naiman, and he himself was summoned to the police in connection with this case, on the grounds that he lived in Moscow without a residence permit, Anna Andreevna said: “You escaped mortal danger. When Khrushchev gives the order to detain the maniac within three days, anyone could turn out to be Ionisyan. For example, not him, but you. with the same probability. I could also get the winning role: an old, experienced gunner and a buyer of stolen goods. As you know, I also live without a residence permit. Are there not many of us on one staircase in the entrance? We recalled this story in connection with the disclosure of the case of the attack of the "acid maniac" on the artistic director of Bolshoi Sergei Filin. This case is also resonant, and “at the top”, apparently, they also showed close attention to it.
- What kind of meeting was it, how many people were present?
The whole troupe, two hundred people, if not more, was there. Come, representatives of the investigation. There were even artists from the opera, from the orchestra, ie. everything, although the meeting could be said to be spontaneous ... From the administration there was a troupe (Pronin), Novikov's press secretary, Filin's lawyer. The meeting left an unpleasant aftertaste. Everyone knew and loved this guy, and no one believes that he is capable of such a thing. Doubt all the facts they present. And of particular concern to the troupe is the fact that he was arrested with virtually no evidence of his guilt. Because the only evidence that appeared later was his personal confession, when he was interrogated at night, after 48 hours of detention, he was never fed, as far as we can judge from the information that comes to us. And what was there that forced him to confess - is unknown.
Why is it unknown? Surely he was interrogated in the presence of a lawyer? Dmitrichenko hired a lawyer at the very beginning, when he was not even a suspect yet. Immediately after the first interrogations.
Some rumors are circulating in the theater that he was without a lawyer for 6 hours. The lawyer was not allowed back when he left to buy something to eat. At that moment, he seemed to confess.
- Do the troupe fear that some measures of physical coercion were used against Dmitrichenko?
They are afraid. They talk about self-incrimination. Terrible details are transmitted from nowhere. But these are the rumors, the information that roams around the team and causes concern among the team, which is natural. It is strange that Pavel's lawyer did not show himself anywhere. He was not present at our meeting, although it was proposed to invite him or to make the same meeting with him. So far, none of this has happened. It is also worrying that Pasha was arrested very quickly, right before the holidays and weekends, which, as they say, excludes access to a lawyer these days.
- Can't you come on holidays?
I don’t know for sure, but I heard that on holidays and weekends there is no one to give an order to let him go. Maybe that's not the case. It turns out that during these long holidays he was taken to this terrible pre-trial detention center. This, of course, excites the troupe.
- There were people from Filin's side at the meeting. Did they perform?
There was an assistant lawyer and he turned the troupe against himself, because he spoke very impudently, accusing the troupe that we were not worried about Sergei Filin, but we were worried about Dmitrichenko. Although this is not true at all. There was a very strange and not very pleasant impression after his speech. After all, first of all, the conversation is about the most recent events, closer to us now. And this does not mean at all that we do not have sympathy for the position of Filin. He is a very good person, he did a lot for the artists. Many turned to him, and he always tried to help everyone. But the fate of Pasha is not indifferent to us. There is a desire to understand the whole situation. People simply do not believe that Pasha did this, and they do not have confidence in all the facts that we know. There is no trust in the sincere confessions of Paul, who takes the blame for ordering the crime upon himself. And that it is truly sincere. The evidence he gave was confusing and contradictory. The representative of the investigation, answering our questions at the meeting, when he was asked what evidence, apart from a frank confession, existed, said that this was the secret of the investigation. But the artists from the troupe, who specially came to the court to support Pavel, say that there is no evidence. That his arrest was extended only on the basis of a sincere confession. Although if he wanted to hide, he could do it during a recent tour in Italy, for example. Understand, we all know each other since childhood, in the theater we practically all live together, go on tour together and perceive each other as close people. And Pasha is a member of our big family. It is impossible to hide anything in the theater, and we simply do not believe in his involvement. We do not understand what he is being charged with. The maximum that I, for example, am ready to believe is that he wanted to somehow scare Owl, and the performer showed independence in choosing means. And then the question is why they didn’t extract confessions from this person, why he exceeded, obviously knowing that this is a more difficult article with serious consequences (under this article, only in another part, he was previously convicted).
Don't you think it's strange that a person commits a more serious crime? Could this be? Maybe there was a more specific indication of acid?
This is strange that this person has not yet refuted Dmitrichenko's testimony. Filin's lawyers tell us that this is a maneuver of Dmitrichenko's defense in order to mitigate his punishment. But the performer himself has not yet reacted to this.
- Was Pavel Dmitrichenko's wife Anzhelina Vorontsova present at the meeting?
She appears in the theater, rehearses, dances and goes to class. On the very first day when the arrest took place, she was in class. She did not go to court, although she took the floor at the meeting. She said that, apparently, it was no longer possible to stop a running car, but Pasha helped you all, he was a very responsive person to various problems (which is true), and that now he himself needs help. She asked me to write characteristics for Pavel.
And what about the scandalous story that happened at the meeting with Batyr Annadurdyev, who on the day of the assassination was traveling with Dmitrichenko to his dacha and did not know anything about the impending crime?
Ballet director Pronin said that Batyr Annadurdyev wrote a letter of resignation of his own free will, after a telephone conversation with the artistic director of the troupe, Filin. He said that this conversation was impartial, in a raised voice, they talked to him very, very harshly. And so Batyr, who is just a witness in this case, wrote a statement.
- What is he guilty of?
It is unknown, maybe Sergei suspects him of complicity or cover-up. It is not clear, for us it is a mystery. We don't know anything more about the conversation.
And what grounds does Filin have for suggesting that the artist write a letter of resignation if the investigation has not established anything about him?
I have no information that it was Sergei Yurievich's initiative. Maybe Batyr really wrote this statement of his own free will, having heard enough reproaches. We didn't see him in the theatre. In addition, all artists were advised not to comment on what was happening, not to communicate with the press, at least until the court decision.
- But this decision can be in a year.
Maybe in a year. Although now they say that the investigation is almost over, they want to present everyone for awards. Maybe we do not understand something due to legal illiteracy?
About the motives for the crime... Such strange information appeared that the customer allegedly did not like the distribution of positions at the Bolshoi Theater, and he himself expected to become artistic director? That Pavel Dmitrichenko really had such intentions?
This is absolute nonsense, completely out of the question. He is neither age nor status can apply for such a position. Maybe they suspect someone else as the customer?
- What else is being discussed in the troupe now?
Everyone reads the press and discusses Dmitrichenko's testimony. That he stated during the investigation that one of the motives was dissatisfaction with some corruption facts that he revealed.
They say that he accuses Filin of unfair distribution of grants, as well as receiving kickbacks for personal tours of artists. Are there any grounds for this?
I think that if he says so, then he has such reasons.
- Do the troupe have such information?
There is no such thing as “information” in the troupe, there are “rumors”. There were rumors like that before, long before the attack. And now Paul's speech at the trial is being vigorously discussed. He was at a meeting of the commission for the distribution of grants. This is a commission composed of teachers, artists, representatives of trade unions. I do not know in what capacity he was a member of this commission: as a representative of artists or from trade unions. He was expelled from there, sort of like on the initiative of the artistic director. So, he remained absolutely dissatisfied with the work of this commission, seeing some kind of speculation there. There, at the commission, he openly declared this (he is generally an open person), then wrote a memorandum to the directorate. And by this moment, I think, the most attention will now be riveted.
But, for example, at the Mariinsky Theatre, the trade union is trying to ensure that their distribution of grants is transparent, they refer to the positive experience of the Bolshoi Theatre. Not only Owl distributes them. A special commission works monthly in the theater. What grounds does Dmitrichenko have to accuse Filin?
Only Dmitrichenko knows about this, since he was a member of this commission. And I think that he will tell about it in court. Then we will see whether these grounds are weighty or not.
And already rehearsing new roles
Ex-soloist of the Bolshoi Pavel Dmitrichenko, convicted as the organizer of the "acid attack" on the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet Sergei Filin for 5.5 years in a penal colony, returned to the Bolshoi Theater. Recall that on May 18 he was released, having served half of the term on parole (three years and three months from the moment of detention in March 2013). As it became known to MK, Dmitrichenko has been going to the Bolshoi for morning classes to the teacher Vladimir Nikonov for a month now in order to restore his form and subsequently try to return to his native stage.
Pavel Dmitrichenko himself prefers not to communicate with journalists, but how did the troupe react to his appearance? On the condition of anonymity (the artists still do not want to be frank with the press), one of the soloists of the Bolshoi Theater agreed to tell us about this ...
He served his term, and it is believed that in this case a person has atoned for his guilt and, according to the law, he has the right to return to the profession. That is, to return your life, creativity, start all over again, from a blank sheet. And I respect this decision of his with respect and positively. Another thing is whether Pasha, after 3 years in prison, when there were no necessary conditions for ballet classes, will be able to return to the stage of the Bolshoi Theater? Although I know that he did not stop his studies under these conditions. And to what extent, after everything that happened, does he have the right to work at the Bolshoi? This is a question...
Is it known who made him a pass for classes and rehearsals in the classes of the Bolshoi Theater? And is the theater management aware of this?
I don’t know, I didn’t ask, and it’s hardly appropriate ... Anyone could make a pass for him. He has been taking classes in the theater for more than a month, and I have no doubt that the management knows about it.
- Did you see him in class?
He goes to the morning class with Vladimir Nikonov. If we talk about his form objectively, then now he is not, he has not put on weight ... But he has become more massive, or something, if I may say so, more pumped up, which, of course, is not very good for ballet. But I know that he is a stubborn person ... Even very stubborn ... Pasha knows how to achieve his goals, and he is quite capable of getting into the appropriate form. And so everything is doing well in the classroom ... Out of the corner of my ear I heard and even saw on Facebook a photo from the performance (if it’s not a photoshop) that he even, and more recently, for the first time after imprisonment, went on stage and already danced Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake with some kind of entreprise, or maybe in a concert. That is, a person really wants to return to the profession.
How did you react to his arrival? Indeed, after the attack, the troupe was divided in this regard, some condemned him, but the majority did not believe in his guilt and signed the corresponding letters in his defense ... What is the situation now?
Everyone calmly reacted to this, benevolently ... Many, of course, when they saw him for the first time after a long absence, could not hide their surprise. I know that for some time he himself was afraid to come to the theater ... Even in the summer before the end of last season, he came to the service entrance several times, met with friends, but did not go to the theater itself, because he was worried about how the team would meet him. And he was pleasantly surprised by the friendly attitude towards him. There is absolutely nothing negative about him. Maybe a few did not take it too well ... But I don’t even know such people ...
Nevertheless, we talked with the ill-wisher:
Yes, I went to classes, came, they say, in a new Mercedes. But they haven't seen him for a week already... Urin gave him a pass for 2 or 3 months. It is simply impossible to get a pass for such a long time without the order of the director. Ignorant people think that he did his time and is clean before society. But let me remind you that he did not repent of anything and was released only on parole, that is, he will remain under observation for the next 3 years. So with dancing on the stage of the Bolshoi - all this is a hopeless undertaking. He himself, probably, in general, understands this. At least in the theater, his claims to dancing are not taken seriously.
Cautious in his predictions about the dance future of Pavel Dmitricheko on the stage of the Bolshoi and the general director Vladimir Urin himself. In an interview with Dancing Times, he said: “There are rumors that Pavel Dmitrichenko is returning to the Bolshoi, and this will not be an easy situation. However, after 3 years in prison, he is no longer the same dancer, physically and emotionally. Therefore, the main question is whether he will be able to return the form that is necessary for the dancer of the Bolshoi? Big is work, and it should be built on professional principles.”
