Russia’s Bolshoi Theater director dismissed after series of scandals

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Bolshoi Theater’s director was dismissed Tuesday, July 9 seven months after an acid attack on his artistic director and a series of scandals that tarnished the reputation of Russia’s most renowned ballet company, RIA Novosti reported.

Anatoly Iksanov headed Russia’s trademark cultural institution for almost 13 years. His time at the helm saw scandals, corruption allegations and internal squabbles, many of which only became public after the January acid attack on artistic director Sergei Filin that left his face and eyesight badly damaged.

Despite this, the imposing, balding manager was credited with carrying out a radical makeover of the theater that had long been considered a bastion of traditionalism.

He invited controversial choreographers and composers, started online broadcasts of the theater’s performances and introduced workshops for young performers with little or no background in classical ballet.

Russia’s Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky announced Iksanov’s dismissal Tuesday, noting that the decision was “not spontaneous.” “The complicated situation means that the theater needs a new start,” Medinsky told a news conference at the theater.

He added that Vladimir Urin, formerly the general director of Moscow’s Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater, will take over at the Bolshoi.

Iksanov’s dismissal follows the sacking of a man widely reputed to be his nemesis, dance star Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who has for months criticized the theater's management, saying that he would do a much better job.

Tsiskaridze said publicly that the massive renovation of the theater’s historic, 19th-century building that cost almost $800 million made it look like a “Turkish hotel.”