Bolshoi Ballet Director Attacked

The director of Moscow’s renowned Bolshoi Ballet was attacked with acid thrown in his face late Thursday evening as he returned home from a theatrical celebration. Sergei Filin suffered third-degree burns in the attack, underwent eye surgery Friday, and will be flown to Belgium for burn treatment. Katerina Novikova, the press secretary for the Bolshoi, says Filin had been repeatedly threatened recently, including having his tires slashed, his Facebook page hacked, and received ominous phone calls. “I am 100 percent confident [the attack] is linked to his work,” Novikova says. “He is a man of principle, and he never made concessions.”