A Russian Mafia Boss Assassinated and Bolshoi Ballet Director Attacked with Acid in One Week

It has been a violent week for Russia. Mafia boss, Aslan Usoyan, was assassinated on Wednesday, and now a world renowned ballet director, 42 year old Sergei Filin, has been the victim of an acid attack. 

Filin was directing the ballets at the famous Bolshoi theatre in Moscow, which he believes is the root motivation for the attack. "This is linked to my work - someone doesn't like that I'm successfully leading the Bolshoi Theatre," he said. "I saw his hand and got scared and thought he was going to shoot me." A shooting may certainly have been worse, but having had acid thrown at his head he is now facing potential blindness and scarring for life. He spent most of Friday (Jan 18th) in surgery.

Filin became the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet two years ago, but under 'shady' circumstances. The director preceding him was forced to step down after it was suspected that a rival had leaked photos of him online. As the Guardian reports, the theatre then underwent a major reconstruction that was way over-budget, which rings alarm bells given that one of Usoyan's major businesses was in construction.

Some of his colleagues and dancers have spoken in shock at the attack. "I can't even imagine that this can happen in the cultural world," said Anastasia Volochkova, a former dancer at the Bolshoi. "...all this lawlessness, corruption, and anti-humanity - it's a sign of the end."

Another ballerina, Svetlana Zakharova, said: "This is an animalistic crime and I very much hope the criminals will be punished."