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© Alexander NemenovPavel Dmitrichenko, a leading dancer at Russia's Bolshoi ballet, is escorted in a court in Moscow.
A Bolshoi star dancer has been sentenced to six years in prison over an acid attack on the ballet's director that exposed vicious backstage bickering and intrigue at the renowned theater.

The judge pronounced Bolshoi soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko guilty of making plans to attack Sergei Filin. Ex-convict Yuri Zarutsky, who splashed the acid in Filin's face on Jan. 17, was sentenced to 10 years; a driver, Andrei Lipatov, got four years.

The dancer had pleaded not guilty but admitted "moral responsibility" because he spoke badly of Filin in front of Zarutsky. Filin lost most of the sight in one eye and 20 percent in the other.

Prosecutors had sought a nine-year sentence for Dmitrichenko.
Acid thrown in face of Bolshoi ballet's artistic director

Bolshoi dancer confesses to acid attack on ballet's director