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 looks especially tense against the background of the aggravated geopolitical situation in the world. Military conflicts, religious enmity, economic sanctions worry many, and too zealous avengers, fanatical people are capable of terrible deeds.
Moreover, there have been different cases in the history of the country. First of all, these are explosions in the Moscow metro. And although recent years show that the security system works much more efficiently and the degree of tension has subsided a little, we should not forget the tragedies of past years.
General information
The capital's underground highway has experienced many tragic events in its long history. Explosions in the Moscow metro, fires, accidents due to technical malfunctions, the human factor - all this led to hundreds of victims and thousandsaffected. Incidents qualifying as terrorist acts did not occur as often. Fortunately, many terrorist attacks were prevented in advance. There are events that are quite well known to the broad masses of citizens, there are also those that are still classified as “secret”, and only special services have information about them.
According to sources, in total there were 7 terrorist attacks in Moscow, which were aimed precisely at metro passengers. The suicide bombers chose this place for a reason. Where else can you find so many people in such a small area?
Terror attacks here and now
Such tragedies are not a tribute to modernity. In the criminal code, a terrorist act was clearly defined: it is an action or a threat to be committed by one person, a group of people. The goals can be different, ranging from personal revenge and ending with coercion of 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 that time they had not had to deal with.
The first explosion in the subway, which is classified precisely as a terrorist act, occurred back in 1974. But the unwillingness of the Soviet authorities to disclose information, the real opportunity to keep everything a secret, the closed nature of that case until now do not allow shedding light on the events of ancient years.
Unfortunately, recent history shows more of these bloody events, and this is another reason to think about how to protect yourself.
"Hi" fromYerevan
The biggest incident that happened during the Soviet era was a set of terrorist attacks 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 took place on January 8, 1977. The New Year holidays and the celebrations associated with them are not over yet. People massively used public transport. Some went to visit, some went shopping. And then, at half past six in the evening, an explosion thundered. The bomb was planted not at the station, but in the car and went off between the Izmailovskaya and Pervomaiskaya stops. It was the explosion in the Moscow metro in 1977 that led to the death of seven people. Another 37 were wounded and injured of varying severity.
The organizers were three citizens living in Yerevan: Hakob Stepanyan, Zaven Baghdasaryan and Stepan Zatikyan.
Why did this happen?
This question was asked not only by investigators who were instructed to solve the terrible case in the shortest possible time, but also by ordinary citizens. It was very difficult to track down the criminals. At that time, there were no modern CCTV cameras, no Internet, no mass media, no other means of fast and efficient data transmission.
The investigators had to work out several leads that led them to Yerevan. Three residents of this city carried out anti-Soviet propaganda, were members of the nationalist movement, which prompted them to commit bloodyterrorist attacks. By the way, they were also detained in Moscow, where they planned to bring new crimes to life. Only thanks to a combination of circumstances, operational work and the professionalism of specialists, it was possible to prevent new explosions in the Moscow metro.
Soviet court - the most humane court in the world?
The cruel punishment awaited the accomplices - execution. The execution of the sentence was scheduled immediately after the trial. Rumor has it that such a rush was the result of falsifications by 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.
Terror attacks of the nineties
This period is "rich" in several incidents. The Chechen war gave rise to many avengers. The inhabitants of this country did not forgive the Russians for invading their territory, and the result was an increase in terrorist attacks. There were also explosions in the Moscow metro in 1996. Then 4 people were mortally wounded, and 12 more were taken to hospitals. This incident also occurred on the stretch, but already between the Tulskaya and Nagatinskaya stations. The explosion was very powerful, but, fortunately, it did not thunder at rush hour, but late in the evening, when most passengers had already left the trains.
In 1998, there was an explosion that didn't cause any deaths. Fortunately, only four people were injured. All of them were employees of the Moscow metro and survived.
Terrible morning
The next terrorist attack was also not as successful as its organizers hoped. 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 the time when Muscovites and guests of the capital were getting to work, study, on business, there was a powerful 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.
Spoiled youth
A young guy Anzor Izhaev, who was only 21 years old at the time of the terrorist attack, blew himself up in the car when it was moving between Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations. After killing himself, the man took 41 innocent victims to the next world, and 250 people were injured.
Explosions in the Moscow metro, 2004-06-02, including organized and set in motion by different people. Unfortunately, the perpetrators are not always punished. Judgments take 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 given to female suicide bombers. Sacrificing themselves in the name of revenge for their husbands, brothers, in the name of religion, they destroy dozens, hundreds of people, become the cause of grief for thousands of families. This is how another explosion occurred in the Moscow metro. 2004 was a dark year for the second time. It all happened August 31st in the lobbyleading to the platform of the Rizhskaya metro station. Ten people died then, but there could have been many more victims. The suicide bomber was stopped and knocked down from the planned plan by a police patrol. Frightened, she did not go deeper into the room, set off the bomb in the nearest crowd of people.
The terrorists who organized the explosions that occurred in February of that year were found guilty. Over time, the cases were combined into one, and the court considered both incidents.
Holy Week
In 2010, Easter fell 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).
There were two on that ill-fated Monday morning. Both attacks were carried out by women. Suicide bombers deliberately stood in the doors of train cars and detonated bombs during the stop of the train. Explosions in the Moscow metro in 2010 claimed the lives of 36 people. Four died of serious wounds already in the hospital.
These terrible events took place in two places and with a time difference of just under an hour. First, it exploded at the Lubyanka metro station. It happened at 7:56 am. The second explosion occurred at 8:36 a.m., 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 have been predicted by the authorities, the evacuation and assistance to the victims were carried out very quickly.
Consequences of Bloody Monday
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, alreadyBy evening, the consequences of the terrorist attack had been eliminated and the subway had been restored. More than six hundred people were involved in the operation. In addition, numerous patrols, detachments of special forces systematically combed the city, kept order. Such vigorous activity was justified. Due to numerous false claims that there would be more explosions in the Moscow metro and other public buildings and crowded places, it was necessary to work hard, check calls, and there were more than a hundred of them on that ill-fated day.
The attack clearly showed that not all the holes in the security system of public institutions and transport have been eliminated. Dmitry Medvedev (the president of the country at that time) instructed to develop and implement clear guidelines that would prevent such tragedies, stopping them in the bud. The deadline was 2014.
Today
It is difficult to judge how much the authorities managed to defeat terrorism throughout the country, in the capital and other cities in particular. However, the undeniable fact is that there have been no explosions in the Moscow metro since 2010.
At the same time, there were accidents that occurred for various reasons. Among them - the strongest deterioration of the material and technical base, the negligence of some employees of various ranks. The destinies of people sometimes end up in the hands of irresponsible personnel, and the result is human lives. This is exactly what happened in 2014 when the train derailed. Then20 people died. This high-profile and resonant case still excites the minds of people, and those responsible from among the highest ranks are still under investigation.
Modern methods of combating terrorism involve different approaches. This is the observation of passengers, the inspection of their belongings, documents, the clarification of their identity in case of the slightest doubt of law enforcement officers. The last innovation that they want to implement is the armament of the subway guards, by analogy with other countries. Someone will say that these are unnecessary measures, someone may agree, but people need to be protected from such disasters as explosions in the Moscow metro. Photos, eyewitness accounts testify to the nightmare that can befall everyone. To prevent this from happening again, one should treat the work of the special services with understanding.
