The attack in Domodedovo: a chronicle of events, causes, consequences

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

International terrorism is recognized as one of the most serious threats to all mankind. One of the biggest tragic events in Russia in recent years was the terrorist act at Domodedovo airport. The sad news spread on the Internet through the service "Twitter" on January 24, 2011 at 16:38, which made millions of people cling to TV screens.

How did it all start?

January 24, 2011 is one of the worst days in Russian history. At about 16:32 Moscow time, a terrorist attack occurred in Domodedovo. On this day, 37 civilians from Russia and foreign countries died at the airport, including two people each from Tajikistan and Austria, one resident of Germany, Ukraine, Great Britain and Uzbekistan. 117 people from 13 countries were injured in the explosion.

The explosion was heard in the common waiting room, in the immediate vicinity of the Asia cafe. Nearby was the hall of international arrivals, and this led to a huge number of victims from foreign countries. Terrorist act at Domodedovo airport was committedsuicide bomber. According to the alleged data of law enforcement agencies, he was a representative of the North Caucasus. A day after the tragedy, on January 25, V. V. Putin announced that the terrorist did not come from Chechnya.

Later, persons were identified who helped the suicide bomber in organizing the explosion in a public place. The trial of those involved in this terrible act took place on November 11, 2013, as a result of which 3 participants were sentenced to life.

What are the main reasons for the terrorist attack at the airport?

After the terrorist attack at Domodedovo Airport, many political scientists and other experts began to identify the main factors that became the root cause of this terrible event. In particular, the Levada Center conducted a survey between January 28 and 31. Respondents were asked to name the reasons for the terrorist attack in Domodedovo.

• Most citizens agreed that such a situation would not have arisen if the special services had carried out their activities more competently. In other words, 58% of all respondents recognized the activities of law enforcement agencies as incompetent.
• The second most popular reason identified by the respondents was corruption in the highest authorities. 23% of respondents thought that it was bribery, including in law enforcement agencies, that determined the terrorist attack in Domodedovo. In addition, 22% of Russians agreed that the authorities cannot avoid and prevent such suicide attacks.
• Other polls have shown that, according topublic opinion, the blame for the terrorist attack on civilians lies on the shoulders of representatives of various levels of government. 3/4 of all respondents agreed with this.

Explosive used at Domodedovo Airport

As established by law enforcement agencies, the suicide bomber used an explosive device, the charge of which was equal to 5 kg of TNT. The bomb is made of plastid in the form of a martyr's belt. After examining the wounds on the bodies of the victims and the dead, forensic experts concluded that the explosives were stuffed with striking elements, including metal balls, pipe cuttings, washers and nuts. However, representatives of the special services in their statement clarified that it was impossible to speak exactly about the "deadly filling" of the bomb, since such damage could also be caused by items of luggage arriving, fragments of carts and metal furniture, which was in close proximity to the epicenter of the explosion.

Mourning for the dead

The bitterness from the loss of life caused by the Domodedovo terrorist attack is priceless. Stefania Malikova published on her page on the social network the first footage after the terrible explosion with touching comments, in which she put all her thoughts about what happened. This event was not bypassed by the authorities of Moscow either. Official mourning for all those who died in the capital and the region was announced on January 26, 2 days after the tragedy. Flags have been flown at half mast on all buildings and entertainment events have been cancelled.

Mourn withrelatives of the victims and all of Russia, students of Moscow State University, who canceled all celebrations associated with Students' Day. Other universities throughout the Russian Federation also joined this action. On January 27, a rally was organized on Pushkin Square in tribute to the memory of the victims of the terrorist act.

Consequences of the terrorist attack at Domodedovo Airport

Of course, such an event could not be left unnoticed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. On his orders, Andrei Alekseev, head of the Transport Department, was fired. The second high-profile event was the dismissal of the head of the Moscow Domodedovo Airport Department of Internal Affairs, as well as two of his assistants. The personnel changes did not end there. The terrorist attack in Domodedovo cost 4 officials their positions, as well as Gennady Kurzenkov, who did not wait for a public "execution" and resigned of his own free will.

Payments to relatives after the attack

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin issued an order that the burial of all victims will be organized at the expense of budgetary funds. For these purposes, 37 thousand were allocated for each dead person. The terrorist act was not recognized as an insured event, although Domodedovo had an agreement with an insurance company. Therefore, all payments to relatives were made from public funds: 3 million relatives of the victims, 1.9 million each for people who received severe and moderate injuries, 1.2 million each for victims with minor injuries.

Terrorist attack in Domodedovo in 2011became one of the most brutal and resonant actions of bandits. Responsibility was taken by Doku Umarov, who recorded a video message promising to carry out similar terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation in the future.