Moscow ( CNN ) -- As the Bolshoi Ballet 's artistic director Sergei Filin entered the security code of his Moscow apartment , a masked assailant tossed sulfuric acid onto his face , temporarily blinding him and leaving him with severe burns . A Russian police investigation led to the arrests of three people : an alleged assailant , a getaway driver and a Bolshoi dancer who they say had a `` hostile relationship '' with Filin and confessed to ordering the January attack . Investigators say they 've solved the case and the company 's traumatized dancers are getting on with their jobs of rehearsing and staging productions . But this world famous institution is still very much in a state of crisis . It 's being torn apart from within as two men battle fiercely to control it . The opponents are very different people . Anatoly Iksanov is a long-serving bureaucrat . He 's been general director of the Bolshoi Theater for more than 12 years . Nikolai Tsiskaridze is one of the Bolshoi 's principal dancers and a superstar of the ballet world . Tsiskaridze says he is fighting for his job and the future of the Bolshoi . The bitterness between these men became very public in January after the acid attack on Filin . Police investigating the attack always suspected the attack was connected to his work . It 's no secret that Tsiskaridze and Filin do not get along and Tsiskaridze was interviewed . But another dancer -- Pavel Dmitrichenko -- was arrested . Read more : Russia 's Bolshoi Ballet director may lose sight after acid attack . Dmitrichenko has confessed to organizing the attack but says Filin was only supposed to be beaten and that he was shocked when he heard about the acid . Iksanov , the general director , says the attack is the result of a lawless atmosphere within the dance company he says has been created by Tsiskaridze . But Tsiskaridze says Iksanov has been trying to get rid of him ever since he criticized the Bolshoi Theater 's $ 760 million renovation . He says as one of the theater 's most famous artists he has been able to speak without restraint and that if he were to be fired no-one in the theater would have a voice . `` It means evil will completely win . '' Read more : Bolshoi Ballet 'villain ' arrested in director 's acid attack . Tsiskaridze says there has been an attempt to create a public perception that he was somehow involved in the criminal case , despite investigators not linking him to the attack . `` Three days after the tragedy , the general director himself suddenly made a statement claiming that I allegedly had nothing to do with all this -- just so that my name would be sounded , '' he said . Tsiskaridze says other dancers were asked to sign a letter against him and that his students are punished by being overlooked for important parts . The dancer appeared in court Friday in an attempt to have two official employment warnings overturned . He had received them for giving two media interviews without the theater 's permission . His lawyer , Svetlana Volodina , confirmed to CNN that the court overturned one of the warnings but ruled that the other should stay in place . She said they would appeal after reading the full written judgment . Read more : Bolshoi prima ballerina 's grace under pressure . Speaking to CNN ahead of the hearing , Tsiskaridze said the Bolshoi was not `` a secret organization '' and that he was entitled to his opinion -- which is that President Vladimir Putin should step in to settle the dispute -- and fire Iksanov . Tsiskaridze says he 's ready to take up the job of director general himself , if he 's asked . `` The president himself should get involved because the president is the face of the country . This is a flagship of Russian art . A bureaucrat with no musical education can not be allowed to get even with a dancer , '' he said . `` This is primarily causing enormous damage to the reputation of the country . '' However , Iksanov dismisses Tsiskaridze 's allegations and says he 's not ready to leave the Bolshoi . `` If Tsiskaridze thinks he can help the theater that 's his personal matter . I do n't think he can -- because you need a few more qualities than just scandal and fame . '' Both men are said to have support from different factions within the government , but so far President Putin has n't declared any view on the rivalries , which are steadily tearing away at the credibility of one of Russia 's most iconic international brands .
An attack on Bolshoi Theater 's artistic director has put the institution in the spotlight . Phil Black says the theater 's general director and a dancer are fighting for control . Dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze has had two warnings for speaking to media without permission . A court has overturned one , but Tsiskaridze says he is fighting for the Bolshoi 's future .