New Bolshoi boss to bring curtain down on violent feuds

The Bolshoi Theatre has a new director after Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky removed Anatoly Iksanov from his post after 13 years in the job. Iksanov is accused of botching the Bolshoi’s 800 million euro renovation, which ran over budget and schedule. Vladimir Urin director of the respected Stanislavsky Musical Theatre has been given the job: Urin stressed the importance of a smooth changeover at the top of the Bolshoi, saying: “It is very important that this transition from one director to another is done in a civilised, normal, calm, and business like manner.” The well-documented feuds, tantrums and criminal violence have exposed the vicious nature of life behind the scenes in one of the world’s top ballet companies. The company is still reeling from the acid attack on artistic director Sergei Filin earlier this year. Filin is still undergoing treatment in Germany. He is blind in his right eye and has only partial vision in his left. Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko has confessed to plotting the attack, but many believe others may have been involved.