Beslan Siege: Hundreds of hostages packed into the school gym with wired explosives attached to the basketball hoop (a frame from the Aushev tape)
Controversy is a part of life, and even though the sensitivity of certain issues verge of being on the prophetic edge, the events may be critically dissected. These are topics considered taboo for the Russian media, yet this is undeniably a part of Russian history that must not be ignored.
The Russian Apartment Bombings Documentary
A documentary (Blowing up Russia) helps to explain the 1999 Russian bombings. There were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk. Russia had never been subjected to such acts of terrorism.
The Russian apartment bombings happened in September of 1999. Hundreds died in a series of bombing, killing 293 and injuring 651 people, as panic ensued across the nation. The bombings led to what is called the Second Chechen War.
The Prime Minister of Russia demanded the air bombing of Grozny, which initiated the war. Not long afterwards, Putin became president of Russia.
The Beslan Siege Documentary
A documentary titled The Beslan Siege presents the testimonies of the survivors.
The Chechen terrorists were blamed for many of the incidents, including the famous Beslan school siege, which “started on September 1, 2004, lasted three days and involved the capture of over 1,100 people as hostages (including 777 children), ending with the death of 385 people.”
The recognition of the independence of Chechnya was the reason for the standoff.
“At least 385 hostages were killed, including 186 children, with a significant number of people injured and reported missing.”
Eventually the string of disastrous events led to further consolidation of the president of Russia. In 2011, serious questions were posed and the Russian government was under heavy criticism, due to the handling of the crisis.
Censorship of the media was an important factor, probably because of government blame, with accusations of excessive force during the crisis.
In general, the criticism was denied by the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin claimed that the West wanted to “pull the strings so that Russia won’t raise its head.”
However, there were contradictions coming from reporters and former hostages of the The Beslan Aftermath.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
