Sergei Filin, artistic director of the renowned Bolshoi Ballet, suffered severe injuries when a masked man threw acid on his face and eyes outside his Moscow home Thursday night.
A spokeswoman for the Bolshoi told press that Filin had received threatening phone calls for weeks. His tires had been slashed several times, and earlier in the month his email and Facebook page had been hacked.
Filin, who suffered third-degree burns on his face and neck, underwent eye surgery Friday morning. Bolshoi assistant director Anatoly Iskanov told press there was "grave concern" that Filin might lose his eyesight.
The artistic director will undergo two more surgeries this week. Filin told a Russian newspaper Tuesday that the acid hit his right eye and caused serious damage but doctors have "promised to save his left eye."
The Bolshoi Ballet has seen its fair share of drama in its illustrious history. Founded in 1776 by imperial decree, the company managed to survive as Russian and Soviet governments rose and fell.
The company made international headlines in 2003 when it dismissed prima ballerina Anastasia Volochkova for being too fat. Volochkova, who weighed 109 pounds at the time, succesfully sued the Bolshoi for back pay and damages.
During the Bolshoi's search for a new artistic director in March 2011, graphic homoerotic images of top candidate and Bolshoi assistant director Gennady Yanin were published online. The resulting scandal forced Yanin to resign.
Sergei Filin, a principal dancer with the Bolshoi since 1990, was named artistic director instead. One of his first duties was to orchestrate the Bolshoi Theater's grand reopening in November 2011, concluding a six-year, $700 million reconstruction.
Soon after the theater's reopening, two of the Bolshoi's star dancers shocked the ballet world by leaving the company to join a lesser-known rival theater in St. Petersburg.
Today, the Bolshoi is the largest ballet company in the world, and its 200 dancers compete fiercely for roles in each production.
Rumors of infighting among Bolshoi dancers have persisted for decades, as have tales of broken glass in pointe shoes or dead cats being thrown onstage in place of flowers.
Moscow Police believe that Filin was targeted because of his work. As artistic director, he has final say over the company's repertoire and all casting decisions.
The company appointed an interim artistic director Tuesday to lead the Bolshoi during Filin's recovery, a process that doctors say may take as long as six months.
