What happened in Volgograd in December 2013, many people know. Citizens remember this time with two terrorist attacks: on December 29, an explosion occurred at the central railway station, within a day, on December 30, there was a second explosion, this time in a trolleybus following route No. 15A.
Explosion at the train station
The explosion occurred two days before the start of the new year 2014, 45 minutes after noon (Moscow time) in the building of the central railway station in the city of Volgograd. The power of the device was more than ten kilograms of TNT.
An explosion thundered on the ground floor between the frames of metal detectors. At first, experts assumed that the explosive device was set off by a woman, but later it turned out that it was a man who did it. Police officer D. Makovkin at the entrance to the building of the railway station tried to stop a suspicious man for inspection. He turned out to be a terrorist and, seeing that a policeman was heading towards him, immediately set off the bomb. The senior sergeant diedexplosion.
An F-1 grenade (unexploded) was later found at the site of the explosion, which was quickly defused by explosives experts who arrived.
Victims of the terrorist attack at the railway station
The number of victims of the terrorist attack in Volgograd was eighteen people, fourteen of them died at the scene, and four died from their injuries within a few days in the hospital. Almost fifty people were injured, thirty-four people were hospitalized in medical institutions. Nine victims were evacuated by medical helicopters to Moscow.
Among the wounded are six police officers who served at the railway station, two children, residents of the Ivanovo, Moscow, Volgograd regions, the Republic of Udmurtia, two citizens of Tajikistan and a citizen of Armenia.
After the terrorist attack in Volgograd at the railway station, by decree of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, employees of the Russian Railways and the transport police, who distinguished themselves in the line of duty, were awarded state awards. The Order of Courage was posthumously awarded to Dmitry Makovkin. If not for the senior sergeant, the terrorist could have walked inside the building without attracting attention and detonated the device in the waiting room. There would have been even more victims.
Also awarded the Order of Courage were police foreman Sergey Zhivotom, senior sergeant D. Uskov, foreman D. Shantyr, passenger screening inspector S. Nalivaiko (posthumously). The medal "For Courage" was awarded to police officers E. Petelin, A. Kilesev, VitalyTsyganov, inspection inspectors N. Dudina, S. Chebanu, D. Andreev (posthumously).
"Yellow" danger level
From nineteen o'clock Moscow time, a yellow danger level was declared in Volgograd. The decision to establish such a regime is taken by the federal authorities. A high ("yellow") danger level is introduced in cases where there is a confirmed danger of a terrorist attack, but the time and place of the incident are unknown. This mode involves:
- posting additional police patrols with the involvement of dog service in public places;
- strengthening screening at railway stations, airports, metro facilities, bus stations and so on;
- conducting additional briefings for police officers and personnel of facilities that could allegedly become targets of a terrorist attack;
- informing the public about the procedure in case of a threat of a terrorist attack;
- introduction of unscheduled measures to search for persons involved in the commission of a terrorist act on transport, alleged objects of terrorist attacks;
- checking the readiness of personnel of organizations that may become targets of encroachment, special units, working out actions to stop the threat and rescue the victims;
- determining places that are suitable for temporary accommodation of people in the event that a counter-terrorist operation is introduced;
- transferring medical facilities to high alert.
Explosion of the trolleybus route No. 15A
Another terrorist attack occurred in the city during the day- the explosion of a trolleybus in Volgograd occurred at 8:25 on the thirtieth of December. The trolleybus followed route No. 15A from one of the sleeping areas to the center of Volgograd. When the trolleybus was passing by the Kachinsky market, near the stop. "College of Business", there was an explosion in the cabin. The capacity was about four kilograms of TNT.
According to preliminary data received by the special services, the explosive device was activated by a suicide bomber. As a result of the terrorist attack, the trolleybus was completely destroyed, and windows in nearby houses were also broken.
Eleven people died at the scene of the tragedy, three more during the stages of sanitary evacuation. Twenty-seven victims were hospitalized. Later, two more wounded died in hospitals. Six victims were evacuated to Moscow by the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The main injuries were penetrating wounds, injuries and cuts, contusions, fractures, ruptured eardrums, concussions, skull fractures.
All operational services worked at the scene. More than four and a half hundred people were involved, more than 120 pieces of equipment.
Investigation of terrorist attacks in Volgograd
After the explosion at the central railway station, law enforcement agencies initiated a case under articles 222 (arms trafficking) and 205 (terrorist attack). A criminal case was also initiated on the explosion in the trolley bus under articles 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and 222. The investigation did not initially rule out that the terrorist attacks at the railway station in and the trolley bus were connected. This assumption was later confirmed, sincethe striking elements of explosive devices were identical.
Criminal cases were also initiated under articles 105 (murder in a generally dangerous way of two or more persons, committed by a group by prior conspiracy, motivated by hatred or enmity for religious, national, ideological or political reasons), 111 (causing grievous harm), 167 (destruction of property).
Actions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and federal authorities
The Ministry of Emergency Situations provided employees and equipment for the speedy elimination of the consequences of the terrorist attacks, as well as a special aircraft for the evacuation of those seriously injured from the terrorist attacks to Moscow.
The section of the road on which the terrorist attack occurred in Volgograd connected the sleeping area with the city center. After the incident, traffic on this section of the road was suspended, the city authorities organized additional routes.
After the explosion at the railway station, a three-day mourning was declared in the region (when the second terrorist attack occurred, mourning was continued until January 3, 2014). Some entertainment events have been canceled not only in Volgograd, but also in other areas.
In Vladimir Putin's New Year's address to the Russians, the president touched upon the terrorist attacks in Volgograd. He stated that Russia would confidently continue the fight against terrorists. On January 1, the President of Russia visited the victims in hospitals, laid flowers at the site of the attack and held a briefing on the fight against terrorism in the regional administration.
On the same daythe clergy held a prayer service in front of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was brought to Volgograd from Moscow. They then circled the city with the icon in a helicopter.
Payments to victims and relatives of victims
Through the social protection authorities, the relatives of the victims of the attacks were paid one million rubles each from the regional budget and one million more from the federal budget. All victims received from two hundred to four hundred thousand rubles. A total of 100 million rubles were allocated for compensation from the regional and federal budgets.
The insurance company in which the carrier was insured and the union of insurers reported that payments to victims of accidents will be made according to the standards established by law, despite the fact that the risk of a terrorist attack is not covered by the insurance law. In case of death, the payment is more than two million rubles, for damage to he alth - up to two million (depending on the severity of injuries).
The reaction of society and the population
Immediately after the attack, rumors began to circulate about other explosive devices that were supposedly planted in several parts of the city. Representatives of the administration and the Ministry of Internal Affairs denied these rumors, but the residents themselves began to refuse to travel by transport and be present in crowded places. Some supermarkets have closed for fear of more attacks.
After the incidents, which were not the first terrorist attacks in Volgograd in 2013, the question arose about the suitability of the governor for the position, the resignation of the head of the city administration and some security personnel.
On December 30, 2013, Moscow honored the memory of those killed in Volgograd. As a sign of solidarity with the victims and their families, people brought flowers to the building of the Government of the Volgograd Region. They honored the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Volgograd and in Kyiv. People on "Euromaidan" in the capital of Ukraine lit about two hundred candles.
Operation Whirlwind Anti-Terror
After the terrorist attacks in the city, a special operation "Whirlwind-anti-terror" was carried out. Law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Emergency Situations took life support facilities under enhanced protection. The airport, hotels and hostels, river and bus stations, gas stations, hotels were checked, attics and basements of buildings were also checked.
Citizens provided active assistance to the special services, reported suspicious people and objects, organized voluntary patrols together with the police.
On the last day of 2013, the operational headquarters in Volgograd reported that almost five kilograms of narcotic substances and dozens of rifled and smooth-bore firearms were seized.
Responsibility for the terrorist act
The Ansar al-Sunna terrorist group claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Volgograd - the information appeared on the website of the Chechen separatists Kavkaz Center. According to the Associated Press, Vilayat Dagestan (Jamaat Sharia) is behind the incidents, an underground organization from the North Caucasus, which aimed to secession of Dagestan from the Russian Federation.
Establishing the circumstances of the attacks
During the investigation of the terrorist attacks in Volgograd, the circumstances of the incidents were established, in which thirty-four people died, seventy-eight more were hospitalized. Sources in the security services reported that the terrorists arrived in Volgograd on 29 December. One of them killed himself in the station building, and the second watched the attack from the square, the next day the second terrorist exploded in a trolley bus.
The terrorists were identified on January 30, 2014. They were members of the terrorist group Asker Samedov and Suleiman Magomedov. At the same time, Magomednabi and Tagir Batirov were detained on the territory of the Republic of Dagestan, who transported Samedov and Magomedov to Volgograd in a truck, disguised with bales of hay.
Detention of other members of the group
In early February 2014, four militants who were involved in the organization of the terrorist attack, including the leader of the group, were killed in Dagestan. A couple of weeks later, another member of the group was detained. The sentences were handed down under article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
