This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

They once danced on the same stage – two men united in a passion for ballet and bringing glory to Russia's most famous theatre. Now, Pavel Dmitrichenko, a dancer at the Bolshoi ballet, has confessed to ordering an acid attack on its director, reportedly motivated by his desire to avenge his girlfriend.

The scandal, unprecedented in its violence, has blackened the name of the Bolshoi theatre, an institution that inspired respect and awe around the world, even in the darkest days of the Soviet Union.

Now it stands tarnished, another victim of the savage violence and score-settling that has seeped into so many other aspects of Russian life. Some likened the case to the Oscar-winning thriller Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman, in which two dancers vie bitterly for supremacy.

Dmitrichenko confessed to his crime against Sergei Filin on Wednesday , one day after being arrested in a police sweep that encompassed a Bolshoi-owned dacha compound on the outskirts of Moscow and the region of Tver, 100 miles away.

In a police video released to state-run television, Dmitrichenko looked tired and unkempt, with deep circles under his eyes, appearing more like a frightened runaway than a dancer at a world-famous ballet.

"Yes, I organised this attack, but not to the extent that it occurred," he said. Filin was attacked with sulphuric acid while returning home on 17 January, scorching his face and neck, and leaving him fighting to save his eyesight.

Police statements and anonymous press reports about Dmitrichenko revealed a picture of a man with an unpredictable temper and a deep love for his girlfriend, the Bolshoi dancer Angelina Vorontsova.

Until 2009, Vorontsova danced for Filin at Moscow's second ballet company, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre. She then transferred to the Bolshoi – and began dancing and studying under Nikolai Tsiskaridze, a flamboyant principal dancer who would go on to become Filin's nemesis. When Filin joined the Bolshoi as director in 2011, he reportedly felt betrayed when Vorontsova remained a student of Tsiskaridze.

According to press reports, Dmitrichenko believed that was why Vorontsova was consistently passed up for roles, including her dream role – the lead in Swan Lake – as recently as December.

The Bolshoi leadership declined to comment on the arrest of one of its most senior dancers.

Mikhail Lavrovsky, a choreographer and ballet teacher, was among several who said they did not believe that, despite his infamous hot temper, Dmitrichenko could organise the attack.

"Dmitrichenko is a normal person," Lavrovsky, 71, told Izvestiya newspaper. "I don't think he could have done this. He wasn't deprived of anything."

"This never happened in my day," he said. "You'd hit each other in the face in the dressing room and that was that."

As soon as he was able to speak after the attack, Filin said he was sure he knew who ordered the attack against him, although he always refused to publicly name names. He said he was certain it was linked to his work at the theatre.

His lawyer, Tatyana Stukalova, told Interfax news agency on Wednesday: "My client is grateful to all law-enforcement agents who took part in uncovering this crime.

"He knew about the arrests from the press. I can't say he was very surprised when he heard about who was suspected."

As they uncovered the plot this week, police released the smallest details of the attack, a rare insight into the violence that has long plagued Russia's business, political and human rights worlds.

According to police, Dmitrichenko, motivated by "personal hostile relations linked to [his and Filin's] professional activities", engaged a man named Yury Zarutsky to attack the ballet director.

Zarutsky then bought sulphuric acid from a local car repair workshop, waiting until its water evaporated in order to increase its concentration, a police source told Interfax.

Sources said that Dmitrichenko was intimately involved in organising the attack.

"On the day of the crime, it was clearly established when the victim would leave the Bolshoi theatre," a source told Interfax. "The organiser said Filin was heading home, where the attacker was waiting for him."

As Filin approached his door, the attacker called his name. When Filin turned around, acid seared his eyes. CCTV footage showed him falling to the ground, attempting to wash his eyes out with snow.

Andrei Lipatov, who confessed to acting as a getaway driver, said on the police video: "Yes, I was there at the time. I drove someone. I didn't see how it happened. I just drove him, waited and drove him away. I was asked to do it, without explanation."

The three men are expected to be charged on Thursday. They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Dmitrichenko was due to dance the role of Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty on 16 March. The Bolshoi said they were urgently seeking a replacement.

His girlfriend, Vorontsova, was due to dance in George Balanchine's Jewels on Wednesday evening.