Bolshoi Theater chief fired amid acid attack scandal

The head of Russia’s beleaguered Bolshoi Theater has been fired as executives at the world-renowned ballet company fight to rebuild its reputation following an acid attack scandal earlier this year (13). Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky stepped in on Tuesday (09Jul13) to dismiss Anatoly Iksanov, who served as the theatre’s director general for almost 13 years.
Medinsky did not go into detail about the reasons for Iksanov’s exit, only revealing it was the result of a “difficult situation at the theatre”.
He will be replaced by Vladimir Urin, who was the head of Moscow’s second most prominent ballet company, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater.
News of the dismissal comes seven months after Iksanov’s artistic director, Sergei Filin, was blinded in a vicious acid attack amid reports of a power struggle between the ballet boss and principal dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze.
Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko was arrested and placed in custody after confessing to organising the brutal crime, while Tsiskaridze’s contract was terminated after 21 years after he was questioned in connection to the highly-publicised incident. He denied any involvement in the crime.