The attack on Crocus City Hall, on the outskirts of Moscow, is the worst that Russia has experienced in two decades. The terrible images of the venue, where thousands of people were waiting to attend a concert, are reminiscent of the attack on the Dubrovka theater in the Russian capital in 2002, when a group of Chechen militants staged a gigantic hostage crisis. The operation by Russian security forces to liberate the compound caused 130 deaths. There were thousands of people in the room to see the musical work. Nord-Ost. That event, which lasted several days, raised – and continues to do so – many questions about the actions of the authorities. Also veiled accusations that the Russian spy service hid information about the tragedy.
Unanswered questions like the event this Friday, perpetrated by a group of attackers. Several Western embassies, such as the United States, had warned of the “imminent” risk of attacks by “extremists” in Russia. Washington especially mentioned an increased threat on Fridays and Saturdays and events such as concerts.
Russia has a long history of terrorist attacks, which shook the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union and during the first years of Vladimir Putin's rule, who came to power in 2000. Most of them were framed in the bloody separatist wars in Chechnya. that the Russian leader struck down with an iron fist.
In 2004, two years after the Dubrovka Street Theater tragedy, a group of Chechen terrorists took 1,200 hostages at a school in the city of Beslan. The command entered in the middle of the school year start ceremony, so parents and other relatives of the students were also there. 334 people died, including 186 children. The most recent attack occurred in 2017, in the Saint Petersburg subway, where 15 people died. The Strasbourg Human Rights Court condemned Russia for “serious failings” in the hostage crisis.
After Putin arrived in the Kremlin with the promise of stability, the Russian security apparatus struck down the militias of Chechnya and Dagestan and major attacks decreased in Russia. Despite this supposed tranquility, various attacks have occurred in the two republics, including events that the authorities have labeled terrorist attacks to repress dissent and the opposition. In 2023, two car bombs killed four people and injured 52 in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. That same year, Russian police killed seven people declared Chechen terrorists on the outskirts of Grozny. In 2017, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for an attack on the Russian National Guard in Grozny, with six soldiers and six attackers killed.
In Russia, many public places have metal detectors, security forces carry out checks of people and luggage before entering the premises at airports or train stations. Furthermore, the possession of firearms is very restricted and shootings are very rare, although very serious events have occurred, such as in 2022, in the town of Izhevsk, when a man shot dead 18 people and injured others. 2. 3.
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