A Russian court has sentenced Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko and his two cohorts in the dancer acid attack case. The vicious assault was against Sergei Filin, a director in the ballet company where Dmitrichenko was a soloist.

The dancer was sentenced to 6 years in prison for masterminding the attack against Filin. His two co-conspirators were sentenced to 10 and 4 years apiece. Dmitrichenko maintains that he ordered Filin to be roughed up but did not sanction the use of acid. Him, along with his team, turned themselves in after the dancer acid attack.

Filin, 43, was left nearly blind after the dancer acid attack on his face. His skin and eyes were severely injured and he had to undergo dozens of surgeries to restore his sight. His continuing treatment in Germany prevented him from attending the trial.

The dancer acid attack was the biggest scandal to break in the world-famous ballet company. Dmitrichenko planned the attack against his director because he felt he was not being given substantial roles. To retaliate, he conspired to threaten the director into giving him better parts in the company's dances.

Pavel was also disappointed that his girlfriend, Anzhelina Vorontsova, was passed over for a top role in one of the company's productions. Dmitrichenko is sentenced to a strict regime colony with his co-hort Andrei Lipatov. He is also to pay Filin a fine of $100,000 in damages.

Dmitrichenko's lawyer Sergei Kadyrov plans to file an appeal to the court. Supporters published an open letter in the Izvestia daily praising Pavel as a person with "wonderful human qualities". One Bolshoi employee even shouted that he would die for Pavel, insisting that the dancer was innocent. Filin reported a string of intimidating acts that lead to the final attack against his person. This is hardly the only controversy plaguing the famous ballet company as reports of overspending, dancers sleeping with directors for roles and smears campaigns surfaced in recent years.