2004:
** 1 September 2004 -- Armed insurgents seize a school in Beslan, in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia, taking some 1,000 adults and children hostage. Russian security forces storm the school two days later (Friday, 3 September). At least 340 people -- half of them children -- die in the resulting violence.
** 31 August 2004 -- A female suicide bomber kills nine people outside a Moscow subway station. A 10th person later dies of his injuries.
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov speaks to reporters the night of the blast: "This was a terrorist act. It was carried out by a woman suicide bomber. There was a large amount of explosives involved. [The bomb was] filled with various bolts and metal objects."
** 24 August 2004 -- Two Russian passenger planes crash almost simultaneously, killing all 90 people on board. Female Chechen suicide bombers are later blamed for the crashes.
** 21 August 2004 -- Gunmen attack a police station and voting centers in Chechnya ahead of presidential elections, killing at least 11 people.
** 21-22 June 2004 -- Hundreds of insurgents in stolen local police uniforms seize control of much of Nazran in the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya. Nearly 100 Ingushetian Interior Ministry troops, Russian border guards, and insurgents die in the fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking afterward: "The situation is stable there [in Ingushetia]. Frankly, there were no doubts that it would remain stable. This was another terrorist raid which, of course, caused us grave consequences, but it could not and did not change the situation. In fact, there is no force in the whole country and in the North Caucasus, in particular, that could change the situation now."
** 9 May 2004 -- A bomb blast at a stadium in Grozny kills the Moscow-backed Chechen president, Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov, and five others.
Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinskii speaking to journalists: "Improper methods of security organization and training were among the reasons that made this terrorist act possible. The investigators are continuing to interrogate witnesses and victims and making other examinations. They are interrogating, among others, those who worked at the stadium before the celebrations."
** 6 February 2004 -- A suicide bombing kills at least 40 people on a subway train in Moscow. A Chechen rebel group claims responsibility.
A female subway passenger who survived the blast: "There was an explosion in the second [metro] car. The driver told us there was a piece of flesh lying on the floor in the second car. For a long time, we couldn't open the doors. Then, finally, the driver opened them, and we started walking. We walked for about two kilometers. There was panic and a lot of screaming."
2003:
** 9 December 2003 -- A suicide bomber kills five people near the Kremlin. At least 13 people are wounded.
** 1 August 2003 -- A suicide bomber driving an explosives-packed truck blows up a military hospital in Mozdok, North Ossetia, bordering Chechnya. The blast kills 50 people.
** 5 July 2003 -- Two Chechen women suicide bombers kill 15 other people when they blow themselves up at an open-air rock festival at Moscow's Tushino airfield.
** 12 May 2003 -- Two suicide bombers drive a truck full of explosives into a government complex in Znamenskoe, in northern Chechnya, killing 59 people.
2002:
** 27 December 2002 -- Chechen suicide bombers ram vehicles into the local government headquarters in Grozny, killing a reported 80 people.
** 23-26 October 2002 -- Armed Chechen militants take 700 people hostage in Moscow's Dubrovka theater. Some 129 hostages and 41 guerrillas are killed when Russian special forces storm the building. Most of the deaths are caused by a gas used by the forces to incapacitate the hostage takers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "We managed to do the near-impossible: Save the lives of hundreds, hundreds of people. We proved it is impossible to bring Russia to its knees."
A female survivor of the siege, speaking to RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, said: "Everybody saw the gas and everybody realized what was happening. [The hostage takers] had enough time to blow up everything, but they purposely didn't do it. It is very strange. I do not know why [they didn't do it]."
2000:
** 2-3 July 2000 -- Chechen guerrillas launch five suicide-bomb attacks on bases of Russian security forces within 24 hours. In the deadliest, at least 54 people are killed at a police-commando dormitory in Argun, near Chechen capital of Grozny.
1999:
** September 1999 -- Bombs destroy apartment blocks in Moscow, Buynaksk, and Volgodonsk. More than 200 people are killed. Moscow blames Chechen fighters, who in turn blame Russian secret services.
1996:
** 9-24 January 1996 -- Chechen gunmen take 2,000 people hostage in Kizlyar, in the Russian Caucasus republic of Daghestan. Most are freed, but more than 100 are then taken on to Pervomayskaya, on the Daghestan-Chechnya border. Between 50 and 100 hostages are killed when Russian forces launch an air assault on the town. Some civilians are also reported killed.
1995:
** 14 June 1995 -- In the southern Russian town of Budennovsk, Chechen gunmen led by Shamil Basaev take 1,500 people hostage in a hospital. A total of 166 hostages are killed when Russian troops storm the building.
(compiled from staff and agency reports)
For full coverage on the recent wave of terror attacks in Russia, see RFE/RL's webpage on "Terror In Russia".
** 1 September 2004 -- Armed insurgents seize a school in Beslan, in the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia, taking some 1,000 adults and children hostage. Russian security forces storm the school two days later (Friday, 3 September). At least 340 people -- half of them children -- die in the resulting violence.
** 31 August 2004 -- A female suicide bomber kills nine people outside a Moscow subway station. A 10th person later dies of his injuries.
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov speaks to reporters the night of the blast: "This was a terrorist act. It was carried out by a woman suicide bomber. There was a large amount of explosives involved. [The bomb was] filled with various bolts and metal objects."
** 24 August 2004 -- Two Russian passenger planes crash almost simultaneously, killing all 90 people on board. Female Chechen suicide bombers are later blamed for the crashes.
** 21 August 2004 -- Gunmen attack a police station and voting centers in Chechnya ahead of presidential elections, killing at least 11 people.
** 21-22 June 2004 -- Hundreds of insurgents in stolen local police uniforms seize control of much of Nazran in the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya. Nearly 100 Ingushetian Interior Ministry troops, Russian border guards, and insurgents die in the fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking afterward: "The situation is stable there [in Ingushetia]. Frankly, there were no doubts that it would remain stable. This was another terrorist raid which, of course, caused us grave consequences, but it could not and did not change the situation. In fact, there is no force in the whole country and in the North Caucasus, in particular, that could change the situation now."
** 9 May 2004 -- A bomb blast at a stadium in Grozny kills the Moscow-backed Chechen president, Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov, and five others.
Russian Deputy Prosecutor-General Sergei Fridinskii speaking to journalists: "Improper methods of security organization and training were among the reasons that made this terrorist act possible. The investigators are continuing to interrogate witnesses and victims and making other examinations. They are interrogating, among others, those who worked at the stadium before the celebrations."
** 6 February 2004 -- A suicide bombing kills at least 40 people on a subway train in Moscow. A Chechen rebel group claims responsibility.
A female subway passenger who survived the blast: "There was an explosion in the second [metro] car. The driver told us there was a piece of flesh lying on the floor in the second car. For a long time, we couldn't open the doors. Then, finally, the driver opened them, and we started walking. We walked for about two kilometers. There was panic and a lot of screaming."
2003:
** 9 December 2003 -- A suicide bomber kills five people near the Kremlin. At least 13 people are wounded.
** 1 August 2003 -- A suicide bomber driving an explosives-packed truck blows up a military hospital in Mozdok, North Ossetia, bordering Chechnya. The blast kills 50 people.
** 5 July 2003 -- Two Chechen women suicide bombers kill 15 other people when they blow themselves up at an open-air rock festival at Moscow's Tushino airfield.
** 12 May 2003 -- Two suicide bombers drive a truck full of explosives into a government complex in Znamenskoe, in northern Chechnya, killing 59 people.
2002:
** 27 December 2002 -- Chechen suicide bombers ram vehicles into the local government headquarters in Grozny, killing a reported 80 people.
** 23-26 October 2002 -- Armed Chechen militants take 700 people hostage in Moscow's Dubrovka theater. Some 129 hostages and 41 guerrillas are killed when Russian special forces storm the building. Most of the deaths are caused by a gas used by the forces to incapacitate the hostage takers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "We managed to do the near-impossible: Save the lives of hundreds, hundreds of people. We proved it is impossible to bring Russia to its knees."
A female survivor of the siege, speaking to RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, said: "Everybody saw the gas and everybody realized what was happening. [The hostage takers] had enough time to blow up everything, but they purposely didn't do it. It is very strange. I do not know why [they didn't do it]."
2000:
** 2-3 July 2000 -- Chechen guerrillas launch five suicide-bomb attacks on bases of Russian security forces within 24 hours. In the deadliest, at least 54 people are killed at a police-commando dormitory in Argun, near Chechen capital of Grozny.
1999:
** September 1999 -- Bombs destroy apartment blocks in Moscow, Buynaksk, and Volgodonsk. More than 200 people are killed. Moscow blames Chechen fighters, who in turn blame Russian secret services.
1996:
** 9-24 January 1996 -- Chechen gunmen take 2,000 people hostage in Kizlyar, in the Russian Caucasus republic of Daghestan. Most are freed, but more than 100 are then taken on to Pervomayskaya, on the Daghestan-Chechnya border. Between 50 and 100 hostages are killed when Russian forces launch an air assault on the town. Some civilians are also reported killed.
1995:
** 14 June 1995 -- In the southern Russian town of Budennovsk, Chechen gunmen led by Shamil Basaev take 1,500 people hostage in a hospital. A total of 166 hostages are killed when Russian troops storm the building.
(compiled from staff and agency reports)
For full coverage on the recent wave of terror attacks in Russia, see RFE/RL's webpage on "Terror In Russia".
