MOSCOW, SEPTEMBER 1: The crumbling building in what was once called Petrovskaya Square has seen Moscow's elite coming in groups, evening after evening for one century and a half, chattering about life and art. When the lights went off and darkness set in, legends of Russian theatre would appear on the stage. The Bolshoi, the theatre that now bears the markings of centuries and the apathy of the administration, wrote and rewrote the history of ballet for generations.As Russia struggles to maintain icons of its culture, the Bolshoi stands out as a crumbling monument to the country's past. Desperate to protect the theatre, once a national showpiece and pride, President Vladimir realises that time is running out like sand through fingers. So last Tuesday, he sacked the director of the theatre, Vladimir Vasilyev. By a decree, he also transferred the responsibility of the Bolshoi to the Cultural Ministry, making it Russia's latest candidate for public humiliation.The presidential decree came against a background of decline - the dilapidated building, declining performances, personal intrigues and clashes, and a loss of international prestige.Muscovites took the decree without an element of surprise. Coming closely as it does on the heels of the fire that gutted Ostankino television tower, Putin apparently was more concerned to prevent the collapse of yet another symbol of Russia's might. The theatre's walls show signs of ageing, the foundation is crumbling and the wiring is said to be the ancient.The theatre is in dire need of major repair, but the government says it has no money. The Bolshoi itself has launched an international appeal for a $225 million repair and renovation programme. The Kremlin is already carrying out talks with UNESCO for financial assistance. In July, UNESCO's director-general Kochiro Matsuura met Putin to discuss the badly needed restoration of the Bolshoi. Putin has called for international financial help to save the Bolshoi.UNESCO, which put the theatre on its list of the world's most important endangered cultural buildings, has launched an international fund-raisingcampaign for $350 million to restore the building. Opera houses in Britain, France, Germany and Spain have promised to donate funds for the Bolshoi.But it will take at least two years to restore the building, as a third of the existing structure will have to be demolished and rebuilt. By the time restoration starts, an adjacent 1,000-seat affiliate theatre of the Bolshoi will be completed. The Russian government is paying for the construction and have already run short of funds.The Kremlin has managed the Bolshoi since 1992, when former PresidentBoris Yeltsin in an attempt to reform the theatre, separated it from theCultural Ministry.However, little changed over the years as the power struggle for the control of the theatre continued, forcing a number of leading soloists, directors, and conductors to desert the Bolshoi and migrate to the West. Among them were renowned ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, musician-conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, his wife and well-known opera singer Galina Ivanovna, and dancer Irek Mukhamedov.Vasilyev, a ballet star of the Soviet era, was dismissed last week after five years in one of Russia's most demanding jobs, during which most critics agreed that he failed to give the Bolshoi's ballet and opera companies the verve they need to preserve the aura of their name.Vasilyev had been appointed to the top post in an intense struggle against then director Yuru Grigorievich. As the new director, he faced the creative challenge of putting on the world's finest Russian classical ballets while also introducing new repertoire, and the logistical nightmare of making ends meet.When Vasilyev succeeded Grigorievich, in 1995, he had promised a newera in the Bolshoi. He had also vowed to revive the theatre's past glory bypersuading the artists who had left the Bolshoi to return. But he failed to bring back even a single leading soloist, director or conductor to the crisis-ridden Bolshoi. Although Vasilyev's new versions of Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet were acclaimed abroad, they were savaged by traditionalists in Moscow.Now Muscovites are waiting for a fairy-tale ending to the story of the theatre - though they don't get to see such scenes in real-life Russia these days. Bolshoy trivia *THE theatre was built in 1820-1824 to the design of architects Alexander Mikhailov and Osip Beauvais. A monumental work of 19th-century Russian neoclassicism, it was rebuilt in 1855-1856 after a fire, by the architect Albert Kavos.*The auditorium, seating 2,153, is 21 metres high, 25 metres long and 26 metres wide. Several great artists have performed on the stage of the Bolshoi. Fyodor Chaliapin sang here and Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya danced on its boards.
