Latest News

Mr. Filin, who spoke to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, also said he blamed himself for not taking the threats seriously enough and said he had turned down an offer of a driver and bodyguard, though he did not say who made the offer. Mr. Filin suffered third-degree burns on his face and eyes, and is at risk of losing some of his eyesight. Galina Stepanenko, a principal dancer with the company, was named acting artistic director on Tuesday.

Mr. Filin said he believed he was attacked because of his work at the ballet company and that investigators had a good chance of identifying his assailant.

"When everything is going well, that may also displease someone," Mr. Filin said, when asked whether the attack was planned by someone within the company. "But I don't want to talk too much about this subject, let the investigators do that. They will definitely find the answer. If this crime remains unsolved, then I don't even know what to believe in."

Mr. Filin's interview, which was posted online early Tuesday, is sure to revive speculation about a crime that left Moscow's cultural circles aghast. Police officials have said they are looking into various theories, including a dispute over money or business, but officials in the Bolshoi and Mr. Filin's associates said they were sure the crime could be traced to a professional grudge.

Mr. Filin made pointed comments about dissent from within the company, suggesting it had been allowed to grow to dangerous proportions. Asked by the reporter about "attacks" that followed the theater's grand reopening in 2011 — likely a reference to harsh public criticism — Mr. Filin said they could have been prevented.

"I think one decision would have been enough to stop these dirty attacks," he said. "And if today, a decision does not result from the attack on me, I don't know what needs to happen in our country, so that the leadership of the country and the security services will pay attention." He said the Bolshoi's company is internationally recognized as the world's best, but "from inside, we always hear some sort of dissatisfaction," and that "It is important to put a stop to these conversations." Mr. Filin was in good spirits and optimistic about his recovery, saying he cared very little about physical disfigurement and was focused on continuing his work at the Bolshoi. He said the acid had hit his right eye and caused serious damage, and that "they promise to save the left eye." He said he would undergo further surgery on his eyes — his second and third since the attack — on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I am not in bad spirits," he said. "Sometimes I am able to see all the fingers on my hand. This give rise to optimism and hope." He went on to say that the acid attack was far less painful than an experience he once had on stage, when he danced "Swan Lake" on a broken leg, because his mother was sitting in the front row and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"I understood, that if they shut the curtain and announced that something had happened to me, Mama would not tolerate that," he said. "So I danced until intermission."