MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia on Monday appointed outspoken ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze to head its top dance school after he was dismissed by the Bolshoi in a row over an acid attack on its artistic director.

Tsiskaridze, a former principal dancer at the Bolshoi, will head the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia’s second city Saint Petersburg ― one of the world’s oldest and famed for its impeccable classical technique.

The theater dismissed the 39-year-old dancer in June after he gave highly critical interviews reacting to the January acid attack on the troupe’s artistic director Sergei Filin.

In a surprise announcement, Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky presented Tsiskaridze as the new Vaganova head and told journalists that he would “begin his professional duties” at the ballet school on Tuesday.

Tsiskaridze had been expected to appear at a Moscow court on Tuesday as a defence witness in the case against Pavel Dmitrichenko, the Bolshoi soloist who is accused of organizing the acid attack.

The Bolshoi opted not to renew Tsiskaridze’s contract after he publicly questioned whether Filin really had sulphuric acid flung at his face.

In a public row, the Bolshoi’s general director Anatoly Iksanov responded by accusing Tsiskaridze of creating a poisonous atmosphere at the theater that made such an attack possible.

The war of words ended with Iksanov also being dismissed from the state-run theater.

Filin suffered severe eye damage and underwent dozens of operations after the attack. He returned to the Bolshoi this season after months of treatment in Germany which has restored much of his vision.

Tsiskaridze’s appointment also comes after weeks of uncertainty over the future of the Vaganova academy and came as a shock to its staff.

Vaganova spokeswoman Yulia Telepina told AFP the academy was reacting to the news “very emotionally.”

“They should have let the school know in advance. People have worked here for many years and they deserve that.”

The school has feuded with the indefatigable director of the Mariinsky theater Valery Gergiev, who had suggested merging Vaganova with the Mariinsky empire.

The idea was met with a furious reaction from Vaganova’s director Vera Dorofeyeva, who last month accused the famous conductor of setting his sights on the academy’s studio space.

Gergiev praised Monday’s decision to remove Dorofeyeva, telling the state RIA-Novosti agency that Tsiskaridze’s appointment was a “brilliant solution.”

The government also appointed Uliana Lopatkina, a Mariinsky prima ballerina and one of Russia’s most famous dancers, as artistic director in the academy.

The Vaganova academy was established in the 18th century as the Imperial Ballet School. It is now named after Agrippina Vaganova, a gifted dance teacher who created an eponymous method of ballet instruction in the early 20th century.

The academy is also particularly known for its incredibly strict admission standards.

Vaganova graduates top the rosters of ballet companies all over the world and have included Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.