Volochkova told “monstrous things” about the Bolshoi. Pavel Dmitrichenko was incited to commit a crime by the owl's ill-wishers. So, what exactly happened that you were called

On May thirty-first, the following entry appeared on Pavel’s Facebook page: “Thank you to everyone who supported me! Yours kind hearts were a beacon of hope on a difficult road... See you, friends.” On this day of the leading artist Bolshoi Theater Dmitrichenko, convicted in the case of the attack on Sergei Filin, was released.

I spent three years in prison: the court decided to release ahead of schedule. Fortunately, I managed to survive, despite attempts on the part of those who imprisoned me to do everything to destroy the person they disliked. Indeed, everything that does not kill us makes us stronger. Now I know - these are not just words. If you are given a test, you need to pass it with dignity.

I found myself in Moscow again, next to my parents, friends, my beloved, the most beautiful wife in the world. I don’t hold a grudge against anyone, although I consider myself punished for nothing. I let go of this situation. But my release from prison was greeted very violently. Sergei Filin’s lawyer said in a television interview that I was released illegally: “Dmitrichenko should sit. If he doesn’t admit his guilt, then he’s dangerous!” After such statements, their legal illiteracy simply makes me laugh. I know perfectly well who is behind this whole story, but I do not feel a sense of hatred or thirst for revenge. There is only one question: why were three years of my life stolen from me?

This happened on January seventeenth, 2013. Half an hour later, all TV channels, radio and the Internet exploded: “The Bolshoi Theater artistic director Sergei Filin had sulfuric acid thrown in his face!”, “Filin has burns on his face!”, “An attempt was made on Filin’s life!” The story, like a real thriller, was acquiring more and more new details, versions, and guesses. The journalists reacted with such lightning speed, as if they were sitting in ambush in the snowdrifts of the dark courtyard where the attack took place.

The Bolshoi Theater the next day resembled a military headquarters - behind the scenes there were many television cameras from all over the world. Journalists rushed to cover the high-profile criminal scandal. Endless press conferences, interviews, ballet dancers were confused and depressed... Everyone was racing to build versions: someone said that this was revenge, someone believed that this was how they wanted to take the artistic director’s chair, many were sure - “Cherche la femme” ”, there was even such an assumption - was it not the theater management itself that organized all this? Very quickly, literally from the first minutes, the attack began on Nikolai Tsiskaridze. Filin, who went to Germany for treatment, said in an interview with Der Spiegel: “Tsiskaridze should be in prison!” This had the effect of a bomb exploding. The world-famous dancer was summoned for questioning and was pursued by the media. In an interview, Nikolai said: “This is bullying. I’m sure the incident with Filin is an action planned against me.” Really wild!

My part of the story began almost three months later. Lived before this ordinary life. I went to the Benois de la Danse festival in Italy. He didn’t hide from anyone, didn’t hide. But he could have stayed abroad and not returned...

On March 5, at five in the morning, a bell rang in the apartment on Tverskaya that I was renting. There are seven on the threshold, among them an investigator who came to the Bolshoi Theater: “We will conduct a search and look for material evidence.”

Illustration copyright RIA Novosti Image caption Dmitrichenko was the first performer of the role of Ivan the Terrible after the resumption of the ballet in 2012

The evil genius in Swan Lake, Ivan the Terrible, Spartacus and Abderakhman in Raymond. Before his arrest in the spring of 2013, former Bolshoi Theater soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko was one of the favorite artists famous choreographer Yuri Grigorovich.

On January 17, 2013, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe, Sergei Filin, had acid thrown in his face near his home in the center of Moscow, as a result of which the victim received facial burns, partially lost his sight, and underwent several expensive operations abroad.

Pavel Dmitrichenko and his friend Yuri Zarutsky were charged with causing grievous harm to Filin’s health. Zarutsky, as a perpetrator, received 10 years, Dmitrichenko was sentenced to six years in a maximum security colony for organizing the attack.

According to investigators, Dmitrichenko was dissatisfied with the way Filin distributed roles in the troupe, and therefore he decided to organize an attack on the artistic director. To do this, he hired his dacha neighbor Zarutsky, who was driven to Filin’s house by another person involved in the case, Andrei Lipatov.

At the end of May, Pavel Dmitrichenko gave an interview to the BBC Russian Service. WITH former soloist Bolshoi Theater talked Ekaterina Savina.

To keep healthy

BBC: Pavel, you spent three years in a colony near Ryazan, you were released on parole, but Sergei Filin’s lawyer claims that you were released illegally.

It's sad that the lawyer doesn't know the legal rules. I don’t want to comment on the illiteracy of lawyers.

BBC: How long did you serve in the end?

P.D.: Three years. I want to express my point of view once again - I was put in prison on a fabricated case. I didn’t admit my guilt in court, and I still don’t admit it.

BBC: Did you have any complaints while in prison?

P.D.: For a person who is deprived of his freedom, especially when he understands that it is illegal, it is, of course, difficult to realize this. But I’m not going to cry and say how hard it was. It's not my style.

BBC: What did you do there, what kind of work?

P.D.: What happens there should not spill out. It is not interesting ordinary people. Let others come out and tell horror stories. And I want to forget everything quickly.

BBC: You are a dancer, you have to be in shape all the time. Did you have the opportunity to train there?

P.D.: I kept in shape as best I could. Of course, not with our classic exercises, but with those that were available - weighted squats, exercises with a barbell. This is more of a fitness thing, but I can say that when ballet dancers get injured, in order not to get out of shape, they also continue to practice, but not at the barre, but on the floor. But the main thing in a colony is to maintain health.

Noise and PR

BBC: You succeded?

P.D.: Partially yes. Partially.

BBC: How did your cellmates and the colony administration treat you?

P.D.: How to to an ordinary person. Although sometimes it was difficult due to too much attention.

BBC: Which ballet did you miss the most?

P.D.: In general, I love Grigorovich’s ballets. I missed them the most, for me they are my favorites.

BBC: You say your case is fabricated. But how, by whom and in whose interests?

P.D.: I think those people who are still trying to put me back there are shouting in the media that I need to be brought back. Their position is to create noise and promote themselves.

BBC: What was the situation like at the Bolshoi Theater when you were accused of attacking Filin?

P.D.: I can only judge by people’s actions; more than 300 theater employees signed a letter in support of me. And, as I understand it, there was pressure on the artists who supported me. They knew the whole truth of this process.

No known fight

BBC: He didn't do this to himself, did he?

P.D.: What did you do? You know? Or only from the media? I can't say anything with certainty; I haven't met him.

BBC: Do you doubt the diagnosis of the doctors who examined Filin?

P.D.: I judge by facts, I don’t want to discuss his health, I don’t want to discuss him at all, I’m not interested in him. He has already made a lot of insults towards me, I don’t want to be like him.

BBC: Former director of the Bolshoi Theater Anatoly Iksanov, in an interview with Rossiya-24, argued that the motive for the crime could be that the criminal wanted to take Filin’s place.

P.D.: I don’t know who Iksanov meant; he certainly didn’t mean me. CEO knows very well how leaders are appointed. At that time I was 29 years old, and you know, I still have my whole career ahead of me, and to become artistic director... I'm not interested in this. Funny and ridiculous.

Let's imagine this situation - I am appointed - who am I? I am a simple artist who has my own point of view, who does not depend on anyone, only on Grigorovich, who let me dance his ballets. Maybe there was some kind of struggle going on at that time, but I don’t know anything about it.

BBC: What kind of relationship did you have with Yuri Zarutsky, who was convicted of committing a crime and received 10 years?

P.D.: None. Absolutely none. Everyone who had dachas in the same area knew him. There are many artists, more than 100 people. He worked in a store. Which artist knew him? The one who came shopping knew it.

Was there a motive?

BBC: The media claimed that you complained to him about politics at the Bolshoi Theater.

P.D.: Where did you read this? On Wikipedia? People don't know anything, they don't know the details - only what the other side said. For example, what was my motive? If there is a motive, there is a crime; if there is no motive, there is no crime. Do you know what the motive is?

BBC: There were many and different versions. Including that Filin offended your girlfriend, ballerina Angelina Vorontsova.

P.D.: This is not my girlfriend, this is my friend, Tsiskaridze’s student. This version was not confirmed even in court. I don’t want to say why I was imprisoned. I said it once and left for three years.

BBC: I quote you: “I told Yuri Zarutsky about the policies that are being pursued at the Bolshoi Theater, about the violations that exist there, about corrupt practices.”

P.D.: Zarutsky is no one to tell me this, but he could have heard something. The artists and I discussed a lot of things.

BBC: That is, you were not in the right relationship to give him such instructions?

P.D.: Yes, I’ve seen him nine times in my entire life. And these times are less than a minute. I went into the store, bought it and left. I think he worked there as a security guard. He was not even my neighbor, as they write everywhere. We have a village exclusively for Bolshoi Theater artists in the Stupinsky district.

No evidence

BBC: You claim your innocence and that the case was ordered. Who could want to get rid of you to such an extent?

P.D.: There was a goal, and the investigators forced me to sign a paper that the organizer of the attack was Nikolai Tsiskaridze (Tsiskaridze acted in court as a witness and stated that he did not believe in Dmitrichenko’s guilt - BBC note). I think that, having not received the necessary information from me, they settled on me.

Initially, Mr. Filin’s representative released information to the press that Filin was blind and could not see anything. But there is paper, A4 size, on which Filin wrote the statement with his own hand. He accused me, Tsiskaridze and also his assistant. Based on the application, a criminal case is initiated and the process has begun. Things went wrong, they beat me, forcing me to testify.

My lawyers filed a motion trying to understand what substance was doused with Owl. The answer comes: “It is impossible to provide, the liquid has evaporated.” How can material evidence evaporate if, according to the Criminal Procedure Code, evidence must be stored until trial and only then destroyed. The can, the weapon of the crime, was not produced in court. As a result, there is no evidence, only from the words of people who wanted to make this story scary and beautiful.

BBC: But, according to investigators, there is a motive.

P.D.: Initially there was a motive - revenge and hostility. I asked Mr. Investigator: “What is revenge for, what is the reason for hostility?” He thought about it and a week later they brought me another paper. It said that I was dissatisfied with the distribution of roles and salaries for artists and performers. Just so you understand, there are 250 artists in the troupe. It turns out that I approached everyone and asked: “What is your salary? - Ahhhh, I don’t like it.” This is so ridiculous. Because of my actions, people wouldn’t get an increase in their salaries and they wouldn’t dance anymore. The decision is made by the artistic council, a whole commission. Owl alone did not have such powers.

There are no more intrigues

BBC: Nevertheless, in the spring he was almost reassigned...

P.D.: Let's speak in our own words - he was removed and made the head of the youth ballet troupe. And the artistic director was an absolutely wonderful person - Mahar Vaziev. This is a huge gift for the Bolshoi Theater and for the artists. He led Mariinsky Theater, then went to the La Scala theater. The troupe is happy, they are really making art. There are no intrigues, no scandals.

BBC: What will you do?

P.D.: Continue your creative path, to pursue art, which I have been doing since I was six years old.

BBC: Do you have any offers to join any troupe?

P.D.: A lot, but I still consider the Bolshoi Theater my home, and Mr. Director officially said that I can safely return to the Bolshoi Theater. This was not an official invitation, but I can apply on a general basis. I'm in shape, I have great experience, I worked on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater for 10 years.

BBC: Let's simulate the situation: you return to the Bolshoi or just go there for negotiations and meet Filin. What's your reaction?

P.D.: Ordinary, as always.

BBC: Will you say hello to him?

P.D.: I cultured person, I always say hello. He didn’t interest me, and still doesn’t interest me. It's time to stop. I let go of this situation.

My phone and computer were immediately taken away. I couldn't even call anyone. When the search was over, they ordered me to get dressed. I tried to understand the reason for such furious activity and for someone coming to me three months after the incident: “If you think I’m guilty of something, bring charges.” But they persistently repeated that they had orders. So, deprived of contact and without bringing charges, they put me in a car and drove away...

He stayed in the department until late at night. They were not allowed to eat or drink. A multi-hour interrogation began. They immediately began to put pressure on me. I don’t want to remember in what form this happened, but I will say one thing: these were difficult hours. They convinced me to testify against Nikolai Tsiskaridze. But I did not slander my colleague, even to save my own skin.

He was kept in the pre-trial detention center for eleven days. At first I didn't have a lawyer. There was no one to rely on - in fact, I was left to my own devices. I understand that the task was simple: to psychologically break the detainee.

Only on the fifth day was I able to convey a note to relatives and friends: “Don’t believe anything!” I didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer, and neither did my retired parents. So the artists and workers of the Bolshoi Theater raised money.

- How did your parents react to your arrest?

Hard. I was very worried about my loved ones: besides me, my parents have two more daughters. I am the youngest - the only breadwinner in the family. Mom diabetes, she is a second group disabled person, she shouldn’t worry. But they did great, they held on.

My mother gave birth to me at forty-two, so I am a late child. As a ballet dancer, she was already retired. I was named Pavel in honor of my grandfather, my father’s father, a military pilot. And my great-grandfather on my mother’s side was a priest.

Only two weeks after the arrest were they finally allowed to see their parents. We sat opposite each other, separated by two thick glasses and bars, with telephone receivers in our hands. I saw that mom was barely holding back her tears, and dad was barely even trying to smile, although it’s not easy in such conditions. But we joked and encouraged each other as best we could. They tried to hide their excitement. I know that my parents never doubted my innocence for a second. As, indeed, are friends and colleagues.

Thanks to everyone who supported Hard time not only me, but also my parents. Surprisingly, while I was in prison, I made a lot of new friends who wrote me letters. They helped us get through this difficult time.

- What happened in the theater then?

On March 7, two days after my arrest, a meeting was held. The entire troupe was called onto the stage - in addition to the ballet dancers, there were opera and orchestra artists. Representatives of the investigation and Filin’s lawyer attended the meeting. It was said that the case had been solved and Dmitrichenko was guilty. The troupe was indignant: “How can you blame a person when there is still an investigation underway?!”

The purpose of the meeting was clear: to turn everyone against me. But the artists with whom I worked side by side for eleven years knew perfectly well what I really was like. They were difficult to manipulate. My colleagues fought for me, despite the pressure put on them. All the theater artists rallied and presented a united front in my defense. Immediately after the meeting, three hundred colleagues, including Nikolai Tsiskaridze , signed open letter. It said that there is a presumption of innocence and one cannot accuse a person before trial, much less use the media in a dirty information war.

According to an ex-artist of the theater, the ballerinas of the troupe were forced to provide escort services. At the same time, news appeared about the sitting soloist of the Bolshoi - Pavel Dmitrichenko: the artists chose him as their leader - the head of the trade union

The Bolshoi Theater artists elected the arrested Pavel Dmitrichenko as the leader of their trade union, whom investigators consider the organizer of the attack on artistic director Sergei Filin. This was stated by Bolshoi Theater soloist Nikolai Tsiskaridze in the program “ Iron ladies"on NTV.

The theater administration clarified that this happened several months ago and was in no way connected with the attack on artistic director Filin and the subsequent arrest of Dmitrichenko.

That's what she said Business FM Head of the Bolshoi Theater press service Ekaterina Novikova: “This event took place and such a decision was made by the Bolshoi Theater trade union, only it was made several months before the situation that excited everyone, and before the tragic events that happened to Sergei Filin . It was caused by the fact that Filin, being the artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater ballet, cannot combine this position with the head of the trade union organization purely legally. Now, while Pavel is under investigation, someone has been chosen to fill this position, but I don’t know who yet either.”

At the same time, according to Tsiskaridze, the theater’s artistic director Sergei Filin constantly provoked conflicts with the theater staff: “Sergei and Pavel had a lot of conflicts. These conflicts were visible to the entire troupe. During the run they spoke in a raised voice. Basically, all these conflicts came down exclusively to the injustices that Sergei allowed himself in relation to the artists. The fact is that Pavel has been a trade union leader for many years, despite the fact that Sergei heads the trade union. As a team leader, he heads the trade union. For two years, the artists of the Bolshoi Theater have been fighting to cancel this. Each time we were not given this. And a week ago there was a trade union meeting, at which both ballet dancers and choir artists were present, and everyone unanimously chose Pavel, who is under investigation. Because they wanted these two years.”

According to Tsiskaridze, when Dmitrichenko was shown on television after his arrest, “he had huge bruises under his eyes, and the artists who saw him the day before believe that a person could not have changed so much in one day.”

Sergei Filin himself stated that there were no conflicts, but he was threatened by dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, whom the investigation considers the organizer of the attack. The artistic director said this in an interview with the Rossiya TV channel: “There has never been any conflict that was openly and clearly expressed on my part towards Pavel Dmitrichenko. And there was never any hostility on my part towards Dmitrichenko either. But, apparently, someone worked very well on this, and someone pushed for it. Because every time, every moment, every meeting with Pavel Dmitrichenko was another threat for me, another demonstration of hostility, and I don’t want to hide it now, because that’s exactly how it was.”

Bolshoi ballerinas could be forced to act as escorts

Famous ballerina, former soloist At the Bolshoi Theater, Anastasia Volochkova, in an interview with NTV, accused the management of the Bolshoi Theater of forcing the troupe’s artists to provide escort services: “The girls called me when I had already been fired and told me simply monstrous things. It all began then - 10 years ago. Now everything is much worse. The administrator simply invites the girls on a list and explains to each one that you are going to this party, to a banquet, with a continuation, with bed, with certain oligarchs, with people who are - someone a member of the board of trustees, someone a person who is just got into this party. Parties where Iksanov, Shvydkoy and the oligarchs organized. If they went to Paris, then they did not organize it in a nightclub, but filmed Versailles. And the girls, when they asked the administrator, “what if we don’t agree”? The answer was “then you will have problems at the Bolshoi Theater.”

The Bolshoi Theater responded that they would advise their artists on how to protect their honor and dignity, hinting at possible lawsuits against Volochkova. According to Izvestia, artistic director Bolshoy Sergey At the very first interrogation, Filin named Tsiskaridze as the possible organizer of the attack and stated that he was blackmailing him.

Pavel Dmitrichenko was born into a family of artists from the State academic ensemble folk dance under the leadership of Igor Moiseev. In 2002 he graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography in the class of teacher Igor Uksusnikov, after which he was accepted into ballet troupe Bolshoi Theater. In 2004 he received a diploma from the International ballet competition in Rome (Italy). In 2005, he graduated from the Institute of Russian Theater with a degree in teacher-choreographer, class of Mikhail Lavrovsky.

At the Bolshoi Theater, Pavel Dmitrichenko rehearsed under the direction of Alexander Vetrov and Vasily Vorokhobko. He played the main roles, including:

Yashka ("Golden Age")

Evil Genius ("Swan Lake")

Abderakhman ("Raymonda")

Spartak ("Spartak")

Jose (Carmen Suite)

Tybalt (Romeo and Juliet)

Hans (Giselle)

Ivan the Terrible (“Ivan the Terrible” was the first performer of the role when the ballet was revived in 2012)

Abderakhman ballet "Raymonda":

Pavel Dmitrichenko as Tsar Ivan IV in the ballet "Ivan the Terrible":

Ivan IV in the ballet "Ivan the Terrible":

The consignment Evil Genius in the ballet "Swan Lake":

Part of Tybalt in the ballet "Romeo and Juliet":

Ballet "Romeo and Juliet" as Tybalt. Choir of Yu.N. Grigorovich
Photo by Irina Lepneva:

Pavel Dmitrichenko in the ballet "The Golden Age" - Tango:

Part of Spartacus in the ballet “Spartacus”:

Pas de Deux from the ballet "Corsair":

"Global Lagoon" Naomi Campbell watches Dmitrichenko dance:

Nikolai Tsiskaridze: “I can tell Dmitrichenko - Pasha, hold on!”

Pavel Dmitrichenko and Nikolai Tsiskaridze at the graduation party
Academy of Russian Ballet named after. A.Ya. Vaganova in the Kremlin. 06/22/2016.

“We must not forget that the victim and Pasha Dmitrichenko were in good relations»

“- I can’t help but ask about the fate of Pavel Dmitrichenko, who was accused of the assassination attempt on Sergei Filin in 2013 and was released a month ago.

I respect Pasha very much and treat him very well. And he said more than once, including at trial, that he did not believe and to this day do not believe in his guilt. Yes, he came out, we saw each other, and my attitude towards him did not change one iota.

Did he come to see you in St. Petersburg?

No, I was in Moscow, we met. He expressed a desire to continue his dancing career. I supported him in this and advised him to go study, and he said that he was already studying.

But how realistic is it for him to return to his profession? After all, in three years the form has been lost. Why, for three years or a week the artist will not stand at the machine... you yourself know how the matter will end.

He says he was studying. And then, maybe he won’t be a classical dancer; he had wonderful character roles in his repertoire.

Since Pavel Dmitrichenko was convicted, does he have a chance to enter a serious theater or will the stigma of being a “jailster” not allow him?

By law, he does not have the right to hold positions in government agencies related to working with children. But in the rest he can do everything. Why not? The most unpleasant thing for me in this situation is that no one is interested in the wishes of the audience. A spectator asked me not to leave the Bolshoi - did anyone pay attention to this? It’s the same with Pasha... He has a huge number of fans, and these people want to see him in Bolshoi performances. Whether he will participate in them or not depends on the leadership. If he gets down to business wisely, he has both opportunity and potential.

Are you ready to help him?

How can I help him? I work in another city and I can only say “Pasha, hold on.” If you need any of my tutoring help, please do so.

Of course, I went to Pavel’s trial with my visor open and did not hide anything from anyone.

Still, the guy has a difficult fate. Even the girl left him, because of whom everything supposedly happened?

I repeat once again: this situation had nothing to do with the girl. We must not forget that the victim and Pasha were on good terms. The rest is journalistic fiction.

But she didn’t wait for him.

Why did she have to wait for him if he got married a year before she got married? They separated before all this mess. Don't confuse forks and bottles. It is Beaumarchais’s Figaro who says: “I am much better than my reputation.” How the whole situation was covered three years ago at the Bolshoi Theater - not everything was as it really was."