Oleg Vinogradov, artistic director of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theater said Friday he will not follow the theater's director Anatoly Malkov and resign, despite his recent arrest with Malkov in a huge bribe-taking scandal.


"Until I am found guilty, I will not step down," he said, speaking from the theater Friday. "Despite the investigation, I will continue to serve on as ballet master and artistic director at the Mariinsky Theater."


The two men were arrested three weeks ago in connection with bribe-taking that St. Petersburg police said runs to millions of dollars. No charges have been brought against them, however, and both men were released within days on their own recognizance.


John Cripton, the Canadian impresario who collaborated in the police sting , told The Moscow Times in a telephone interview Friday that Malkov was only "a bit player" in the story.


Vinogradov was the main player, Cripton said, speaking from his home near Guelph, adding that "the time for dictatorial management is over." He agreed with police sources that have said Malkov and Vinogradov worked together, one handling the contracts and the other accepting the money. Malkov, in theory Vinogradov's senior, had no authority over the artisitc director however, he said.


As an impresario, Cripton has been buying Kirov tour rights for 10 years and selling them on around the world, acting as a middleman. Vinogradov would insist on seeing every contract and demanded additional payments on every contract, Cripton said.


Finally, Cripton collaborated with the police because he was sick of seeing the company run down and demoralized because of lack of funds, while he knew huge sums were being paid over for foreign tours to Vinogradov.


The last straw, he said, was when Vinogradov complained at a press conference in London this summer that he could not find the money to buy ballet shoes and stage makeup for his dancers, even though Cripton knew Vinogradov had access to huge sums of money.


Vinogradov has hotly denied all accusations and the investigation is continuing. No results are expected for at least another month, Tatyana Maskolenka, a police spokeswoman said.


Malkov, who was caught red-handed accepting $10,000 in cash from Cripton, who worked with police in a special sting operation, announced Thursday he was stepping down. Valery Shaposhnikov, 48, a former deputy director, has been appointed by the Culture Ministry to replace Malkov, Mata Petrovna, a spokes-woman at the Mariinsky, said Friday.