Moscow theater hostage crisis
The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, resulting in the taking of 912 hostages. The attackers, led by Movsar Barayev, claimed allegiance to the Islamist separatist movement in Chechnya.[1] They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War. The crisis was resolved when Russian security services released sleeping gas into the building, and subsequently stormed it, killing all 40 hostage takers. 132 hostages died, largely due to the effects of the gas.[2][3][4]
Due to the layout of the theater, special forces would have had to fight through 30 metres (100 ft) of corridor and advance up a well-defended staircase before they could reach the hall in which the hostages were held. The attackers had numerous explosives, with the most powerful in the center of the auditorium. Spetsnaz operators from Federal Security Service (FSB) Alpha and Vympel, supported by a Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) SOBR unit, pumped a chemical agent into the building's ventilation system and began the rescue operation.[5]
The identity of the gas was not disclosed at the time, although it was believed to have been a fentanyl derivative.[6] A study published in 2012 concluded that it had been a mixture of carfentanil and remifentanil.[7] The same study pointed out that in a 2011 case at the European Court of Human Rights, the Russian government stated that the aerosol used was a mixture of a fentanyl derivative and a chemical compound with a narcotic action.[8]
Hostage-taking[edit]
Day one – 23 October[edit]
The attackers released 150 to 200 people, including children, pregnant women, Muslims, some foreign-born theater-goers and people requiring medical treatment in the early hours after they invaded. Two women managed to escape (one of them was injured while escaping).[21] The terrorists said they were ready to kill ten hostages for any of their number killed if the security forces intervened.[19]
Responsibility[edit]
The operation was conducted primarily by the Chechen radical militant group The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), with involvement from the RSRSBCM and International Islamic Brigade. The operation was led by Movsar Barayev.[62]
Military commander Shamil Basayev posted a statement on his website claiming ultimate responsibility for the incident, resigning all official positions within the Chechen government and promising new attacks. He also apologized to Chechnya's elected president and separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov for not informing him of the planned raid and asked him for forgiveness.[63][64] Basayev defended the hostage-taking for giving "all Russians a first-hand insight into all the charms of the war unleashed by Russia and take it back to where it originated from" and said that his "main goal will be destroying the enemy and exacting maximum damage" and "the next time, those who come won't make any demands, won't take hostages."[63][65]
The Russian government claimed that wiretapped phone conversations prove that Maskhadov knew of the plans in advance, which he denied.[66] Aslan Maskhadov and his representatives in the West condemned the attack which they said had nothing to do with official policy. Maskhadov said he felt responsible for those "who resorted to self-sacrifice in despair", but also said the "barbaric and inhumane policies" of the Russian leadership were ultimately to blame and criticized the storming of the theater. He offered to start unconditional peace talks with the Russian government to find a political solution to the conflict in Chechnya.[67]
The siege was seen as a public relations disaster for Maskhadov, and his more radical Islamic field commanders correspondingly benefited.[68] Some commentators suggested that Movladi Udugov was in charge from behind the scenes.[69] Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer suggested that the aim of the extremist leaders seemed to have been to provoke the Russian government forces "to kill ethnic Russians in Moscow on a large scale", which happened.[54] According to the report by Russian investigators, Zura Barayeva, the widow of Arbi Barayev, led the female members of the group, while a man known as Yasir, identified by his documents as Idris Alkhazurov, was said to be the group's "ideologist" believed to be trained in Saudi Arabia.[70] Russian officials said Chechen militants received financing from groups based in Turkey and that they intercepted telephone calls from the captors to unidentified embassies in Moscow, as well as to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.[60]
United Nations – In unanimously adopting Resolution 1440 (2002), the United Nations Security Council condemned the attack and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The council also expressed their sympathies and condolences to the victims, Russian people, and government of Russia, and urged all states to cooperate with Russian authorities in bringing those responsible to justice.[117]
– Iraqi President Saddam Hussein condemned the attack in a television broadcast, arguing it would ultimately benefit the United States and Israel in undermining Islam: "It's not wise for the Chechens to lose the sympathy of Russia and the Russian people. The tyrant of our era is Zionism and America, and not Russia, China or India."[118]
Iraq
In popular culture[edit]
In 2003, HBO broadcast Terror in Moscow, a documentary directed by Dan Reed. Interviews with hostages and footage taken inside and outside the theater during the crisis are shown.[119]
In 2004 a documentary by the BBC's Horizon investigated the gas that was pumped into the theater.[120]
A Russian DLC released in 2005 for Postal 2 known as "Штопор ЖжОт" (Corkscrew Rules) contains a reference to the attack, in a mission where the protagonist must defend himself from terrorists and police during an attack in a theater.
The 2006 play In Your Hands is based on the events of the Moscow theater siege, written by Natalia Pelevine, opened in London at the New End Theatre. In April 2008, Pelevine said that Russian authorities had banned the play following its Russian debut in the city of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan near Chechnya.[121]
The play We Declare You a Terrorist, by Tim J. Lord and based upon the attack, premiered at the 2009 Summer Play Festival.[122][123]
The 2015 first-person shooter game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege cites the crisis and FSB response as an inspiration for their hostage rescue game mode.[124]
Part III Episode 6 of the Netflix Spanish drama series Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) contains spoken references to the theater crisis and the use of halothane gas, with critique of Putin's indifference to the fates of the hostages and hostage-takers. In the series, Spanish authorities eventually use halothane gas to assault a bank during a hostage crisis.
In Season 1 Episode 9 of FBI: International,[125] Bulgarian authorities nearly use poison gas to resolve a terrorist hostage-taking in a theater in Sofia, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sent to assist Bulgarian authorities, strongly objects to. The standoff is ultimately resolved without the gas being deployed.
The 2020 film Conference (Конференция) follows theater crisis survivor Natasha (Natalya Pavlenko) who returns to the theater to hold a memorial, finally able to confront her survivor's guilt and her estranged daughter and husband. The film is by Russian writer and director Igor I. Tverdovskiy.[126]
Christopher Nolan's movie Tenet, released in August 2020, opens with a prologue that fans and critics have speculated is based on the attack.[127][128][129][130][131]