The increasing incidence of terrorist attacks in all corners of the world cannot leave anyone indifferent. The realization that trouble can happen to anyone at any time makes us understand the transience and unpredictability of life. The situation is especially tense against the backdrop of the aggravated geopolitical situation in the world. Military conflicts, religious hatred, economic sanctions worry many, and too zealous avengers, fanatical people are capable of terrible things.
Moreover, in the history of the country there have been different cases. First of all, these are explosions in the Moscow metro. And although recent years have shown that the security system works much more efficiently and the degree of tension has subsided slightly, one should not forget the tragedies of past years.
general information
The metropolitan underground highway during its long history has experienced many tragic events. Explosions in the Moscow metro, fires, accidents due to technical malfunctions, human factors - all this led to hundreds of victims and thousands of injured. Incidents qualifying as terrorist acts did not happen so often. Fortunately, many of the attacks were prevented in advance. There are events that are well known to the broad masses of citizens, there are those that are still classified as “secret”, and only intelligence agencies have information about them.
If you believe the sources, then in all in Moscow there were 7 terrorist attacks that were aimed specifically at metro passengers. Suicide bombers chose this place for good reason. Where else can you find so many people in such a small territory?
Attacks here and now
Such tragedies are not a tribute to the present. The criminal code gave a clear definition of a terrorist act: is it an act or a threat of its commission by one person, a group of persons. The goals can be different, ranging from personal revenge and ending with forcing the authorities to certain actions. For the first time in the criminal code, the concept of “terrorist attack” appeared in 1996, but this does not mean that until then they had not had to deal with them.
The first explosion in the subway, which is classified as a terrorist act, occurred in 1974. But the reluctance of the Soviet authorities to divulge information, the real opportunity to keep everything secret, the closeness of the case to this day does not allow shedding light on the events of ancient years.
Unfortunately, recent history tells of more such bloody events, and this is another reason to think about how to protect yourself.
"Hello" from Yerevan
The most large-scale incident that happened during the Soviet era was the totality of terrorist acts that occurred at the same time, but in different places. These were explosions in the Moscow metro, in a grocery store and near the KGB building.
All these tragic events occurred on January 8, 1977. New Year's holidays and the celebrations associated with them have not yet ended. People used public transport in large numbers. Someone went on a visit, someone went shopping. And so, at half past five in the evening an explosion thundered. The bomb was not planted at the station, but in the carriage and went off between the Izmaylovskaya and Pervomaiskaya stops. It was the explosion in the Moscow metro in 1977 that led to the deaths of seven people. Another 37 received injuries and injuries of varying severity.
The organizers were three citizens living in Yerevan: Hakob Stepanyan, Zaven Baghdasaryan and Stepan Zatikyan.
Why did it happen?
This question was asked not only by investigators who were instructed to solve a terrible case in the shortest possible time, but also ordinary citizens. It was very difficult to get on the trail of criminals. At that time there were no modern CCTV cameras, no Internet, no mass media, no other methods of fast and efficient data transmission.
Investigators had to work out several versions, which led them to Yerevan. Three residents of this city conducted anti-Soviet propaganda, were members of the nationalist movement, which prompted them to commit bloody attacks. By the way, they were also detained in Moscow, where they planned to implement new crimes. Thanks to a combination of circumstances, operational work and professionalism of specialists, it was possible to prevent new explosions in the Moscow metro.
Soviet court - the most humane court in the world?
The punishment of the accomplices was waiting for a cruel one - execution. The execution of the sentence was appointed immediately after the trial. Rumor has it that such a rush was the result of falsifications of the investigation team, and the terrorists themselves did not admit their guilt.
However, the evidence was undeniable, and on January 30, 1979, the killers were shot.
Attacks of the nineties
This period is “rich” in several incidents. The Chechen war spawned many avengers. The inhabitants of this country did not forgive the Russians for the invasion of their territory, and the result was increased cases of terrorist attacks. There were explosions in the Moscow metro in 1996. Then 4 people were mortally wounded, and another 12 were hospitalized. This incident also occurred on the stage, but already between the Tulskaya and Nagatinskaya stations. The explosion was very powerful, but, fortunately, it thundered not at rush hour, but in the late evening, when most passengers had already left the train.
In 1998, an explosion occurred that did not result in deaths. Fortunately, only four people were injured. All of them were employees of the Moscow metro and survived.
Scary morning
The next attack was also not as successful as its organizers expected. It happened on the evening of February 5, 2001. Then the bomb was planted right at the Belorusskaya metro station. A small charge was attached to the bench, which saved the lives of twenty passengers.
But after 3 years and one day (February 6, 2004), at a time when Muscovites and guests of the capital were getting to work, study, on business, there was a huge explosion in the Moscow metro. February 2004 will forever be remembered as a terrible day. It was then that it became clear to everyone that it was necessary to apply measures to ensure the safety of citizens at all levels.
Ruined youth
The young guy Anzor Izhaev, who was only 21 years old at the time of the attack, blew himself up in the car when he was moving between Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations. Killing himself, the man took 41 innocent victims to the world, and 250 people were injured.
Explosions in the Moscow metro, 02/06/2004, including, organized and activated by different people. Unfortunately, the perpetrators are not always punished. Courts last a very long time. But in 2007, the Moscow City Court found Murat Shavaev, Tambiy Khubiev and Maxim Ponaryin responsible for the tragedy. For which they received a life sentence.
Black Widow
Truly a terrible name was given to women suicide bombers. Sacrificing themselves in the name of revenge for husbands, brothers, in the name of religion, they destroy dozens, hundreds of people, become the cause of grief for thousands of families. That is how another explosion occurred in the Moscow metro. 2004 was overshadowed for the second time. Everything happened on August 31 in the lobby leading to the platform of the Riga metro station. Then ten people died, but there could have been much more victims. The female suicide bomber was stopped and knocked down by the police patrol. Frightened, she did not go deep into the room, she launched a bomb in the nearest crowd of people.
The terrorists who organized the bombings in February of that year were found guilty. Over time, the cases were combined into one, and the court already considered both incidents.
Holy Week
In 2010, Easter came on April 4th. The week preceding the Bright Feast of the Resurrection of Christ began with tragic events. These were explosions in the Moscow metro (2010, March 29).
On that unfortunate Monday morning, there were two of them. Both attacks were carried out by women. Suicide bombers deliberately stood at the doors of train cars and detonated bombs while the train stopped. Explosions in the Moscow metro in 2010 killed 36 people. Four died from serious injuries already in the hospital.
These terrible events occurred in two places and with a time difference of just under an hour. First, it exploded at the Lubyanka metro station. This happened at 7 hours 56 minutes. The second blast occurred at 8 hours 36 minutes when the train was at the Park Kultury station.
Despite the fact that the explosion in the Moscow metro on March 29, 2010 could not be predicted by the authorities, the evacuation and assistance to the victims were carried out very quickly.
The consequences of bloody Monday
According to the Ministry of Emergencies, by the evening it was possible to eliminate the consequences of the terrorist attack and to establish the work of the subway. The operation involved more than six hundred people. In addition, numerous patrols and detachments of special forces systematically combed the city, and kept order. Such violent activity was justified. Because of the numerous false statements that claimed that there would be new explosions in the Moscow metro and other public buildings and crowded places, I had to work hard, check the calls, and there were more than a hundred on that ill-fated day.
The attack clearly showed that not all gaps in the security system of public institutions and transport were eliminated. Dmitry Medvedev (president of the country at that time) instructed to develop and implement a clear leadership that would prevent such tragedies by nipping them in the bud. The deadline was 2014.
