MOSCOW, January 22 - RAPSI. Bolshoi Theater Artistic Director Sergei Filin, who is in hospital after acid was thrown in his face, says he does not know who his attackers were, but thinks the incident was connected with his work.

Filin refused to say if the attack could have come from someone at the theater.

He said he would be undergoing two more operations over the next two days. "My eyes are my biggest concern," he said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

"As they threw the acid from the right, it was my right eye that suffered the most, and so will take more time to heal. They've promised to save my left eye. I have not lost heart. Sometimes I can see all the fingers on my hand. This fills me with hope and optimism. I am not allowed to make any sudden movements, so there is no question of getting treatment abroad. My doctors are doing their utmost to save the living tissue," Filin said.

He stressed that he did not care about any major changes to his looks. "What is most important for me is to be able to think and to work, and also my family and my children. I have three sons. I want to see them grow up and establish themselves in life," said the artistic director.

Bolshoi Theater Artistic Director Sergei Filin suffered third degree burns to his face and eyes early Friday morning when unknown assailants attacked him with what is believed to have been concentrated acid. The police are investigating the attack, and have said that, if convicted, the assailant could face up to eight years in jail for inflicting willful damage to health.

Sergei Filin, 42, joined the Bolshoi as a dancer in 1988, after graduating from the Moscow School of Choreography.

He has also been invited on several occasions to dance with the English, Hungarian and Japanese national ballets, as well as at many other theaters. Mr. Filin has been bestowed with many awards and honorary titles. He ended his dancing career in 2008. In March 2011, he was appointed artistic director of the Bolshoi Theater amid fierce rivalry for the position.