Documentation

Review of bloody terrorist attacks in Russia over the past 25 years

TN (according to Vietnam+) March 25, 2024 11:55

The attack on the Crocus City Hall theater on the outskirts of Moscow, which killed at least 137 people on March 22, was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Russia in 25 years.

Lửa cháy dữ dội tại hiện trường vụ tấn công nhằm vào trung tâm thương mại Crocus City Hall ở Moskva, Nga tối 22/3/2024. (Ảnh: THX/TTXVN)
Fire rages at the scene of the attack on the Crocus City Hall shopping mall in Moscow, Russia on the evening of March 22, 2024. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

The attack on the Crocus City Hall theater on the outskirts of Moscow, which killed at least 137 people on March 22, became the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia in two decades.

However, this is not the first time Russia has faced such loss and pain.

As President Vladimir Putin asserted, Russia has more than once gone through the most difficult, sometimes unbearable trials, but (Russia) has become even stronger.

Over the past 25 years, Russia has seen a number of terrorist attacks, believed to originate from Chechnya and other regions of the North Caucasus. Some were religiously motivated, while others were carried out by separatists with political demands.

1999 apartment bombings

In September 1999, four explosions occurred in apartment buildings in Moscow, Buynaksk in the Republic of Dagestan, and Volgodonsk in southern Russia. The explosions killed more than 300 people and injured more than 1,700.

The Kremlin blamed Chechen separatists for the attack and then sent troops to Chechnya to participate in the second Chechen war.

This decisive response brought growing popularity to Mr Putin, who was serving as prime minister at the time, ahead of his first presidential run.

2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis

In October 2002, armed Chechen gunmen seized the Dubrovka Theater in central Moscow during a performance of the popular musical "Nord-Ost."

More than 900 spectators and artists attending the performance were taken hostage. The attackers demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from Chechnya.

nha hat dubrovka.jpg
Carrying injured victims of the child-rearing incident at the Dubrovka theater in Moscow. (Photo: AFP)

After three days of negotiations, Russian special forces stormed the building after pumping nerve gas into the auditorium.

All 40 hostage-takers were killed. About 130 hostages died and hundreds more were injured, partly due to the effects of the gas and delays in getting medical help.

Following the attack, President Putin pledged to respond with measures "proportionate to the threat, hitting all places where terrorists may be hiding."

The 2004 Beslan school attack

On September 1, 2004, the first day of the new school year in Russia, armed terrorists seized a school in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia.

They took more than 1,100 hostages, including 777 children. The hostage-takers were Chechen rebels under the command of Shamil Basayev, who demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from Chechnya and recognize the region's independence.

This time, the Russian authorities refused to negotiate. On the third day of the siege, special forces stormed the school building, allegedly after terrorists detonated a bomb inside the school.

Người dân đặt hoa và nến tưởng niệm các nạn nhân vụ tấn công trường học ở thị trấn Beslan. (Ảnh: AFP)

People lay flowers and candles in memory of the victims of the school attack in the town of Beslan. (Photo: AFP)

Several witnesses and investigators said the bomb exploded after gunfire began outside the school. In the operation, 31 hostage-takers were killed and 334 hostages, including 183 children, were killed.

Ten days after the attack, President Putin addressed the government and proposed abolishing direct elections of regional governors on the grounds of unifying governance to fight terrorism more effectively.

Suicide bombings in the 2010s

In the 2010s, a number of suicide bombings occurred across Russia, most of them linked to jihadist militias from the North Caucasus.

In March 2010, two suicide bombings were carried out in the Moscow subway, killing 40 people and injuring more than 100.

In 2011, a suicide bombing occurred in the international arrivals hall of Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, killing 37 people and injuring 173.

In October 2013, a bomb exploded on a bus in the city of Volgograd, followed by two more bombings in December, targeting a train station and a tram. The total number of victims was more than 40.

In April 2017, another attack with an explosive device took place at a St. Petersburg metro station, killing 15 people and injuring 45.

In contrast to the Beslan and Dubrovka Theater attacks, the terrorists did not make any demands after those attacks.

To prevent similar attacks, security measures have been tightened on public transport across Russia.

TN (according to Vietnam+)
(0) Comments
Latest News
Review of bloody terrorist attacks in Russia over the past 25 years