Entrance to the Rizhskaya metro station in Moscow was bombed by Chechens

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

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Burning candles and flowers have been placed at the entrance to the Rizhskaya metro station in Moscow. They appeared there already on Tuesday evening when the city learned about the tragedy. The blast near the Krestovsky department store is another link in the series of tragic events, including the crash of two aircraft with passengers on board. But already in the morning on Wednesday the country was shocked by a new tragedy - the capture of a school in North Ossetia. According to the preliminary data, about 200 children and their relatives in Beslan were captured by terrorists. "The aim of all these terrorist acts is to frighten, to sow panic and cause hysteria in society. This idea has not worked, and it is the most reassuring sign," Gleb Pavlovsky, the head of the Effective Policy Foundation, told RIA Novosti. However, the life in the Russian capital continues. Today, September 1, is the Day of Knowledge and Peace in Russia. Schoolchildren with flowers in hand have filled the school buildings. "We have accompanied our Shurochka to the school for the first time. We have long waited for this holiday. But our mood today was gloomy. We understand that a threat of new tragedies is in the air," Muscovite Yelena Troyanova shares her impressions. "It was strange to see policemen in the school when our first-year children entered the building." The Moscow streets and metro stations look as usual, reinforced security measures are not striking. Only people are more serious, listening to the latest news. "What have children done to them?! What is their fault?! And these people believe in God!" an old woman selling postcards says, thinking about the fate of the hostages in North Ossetia. The Muscovites say that it is impossible to get accustomed to tragedies, but it is necessary to learn to live in this war against an invisible enemy. "Streets, cars, people in cafes ... I remembered my friends in Jerusalem. They say that a threat of terrorist acts has become a habitual part of their life. And in this they see their answer to terrorism. Probably, they are right. We continue to live, and this is our challenge to them," young artist Vera said. "The people who lived through a terrorist act in metro begin to fear using this transport and to suffer from claustrophobia," a spokesman for the Russian Center of Catastrophe Medicine told RIA Novosti. "Of course, every case is individual. But I know that many people who lived through a terrorist act are afraid of metro, this is a kind of claustrophobia," chief doctor in the hospital of the Center of Catastrophe Medicine Valery Shabanov said. According to him, yesterday, two hospital brigades went to the scene of the explosion near the Rizhskaya metro station. "Among the injuries, explosive and burning injuries prevailed," doctor Shabanov said. "In such cases, psychologically people react differently to the shock: some of them become nervous and start running around the scene of the accident, others cry," he added. The doctor said that it was very important to render psychological aid in this case. "A stress can influence physiological indices: blood pressure and blood circulation. It can also provoke the development of chronic diseases," Valery Shabanov said. "The very fact of rendering medical aid influences favorably the injured people. When everything is well organized (police, ambulances), people do not feel lost and get quiet," the doctor said. "Some ten years ago, nobody would react so swiftly to such a tragedy. Medical services in such cases are becoming better with every year. However sad it may sound, experience of the past few years has played its role in such circumstances," Valery Shabanov said. According to the data of the FSB public relations center, the blast killed 10 and injured 51 people. The head of the Moscow Health Department,Andrei Seltsovsky, said that as a result of the explosion nine people on the whole died, including the supposed suicide bomber. In such circumstances, people easily find guilty parties. Everyone is talking about law enforcers, Islam and the Chechens. However, this is only partially accurate, at the very least because the problem of modern terrorism is encountered worldwide. The Brigade Islambuli, which is not based in Russia, has claimed responsibility for yesterday's terrorist attack near Rizhskaya metro station. This brigade has already claimed it was behind the loss of the two Russian airliners. President Putin has stated that extremists linked to al-Qaeda might also have been involved in the air crashes. Therefore, the latest explosion in Moscow and the attack on the school in North Ossetia are unfortunately mere episodes in the protracted war between modern civilisation and a new challenge - international terrorism. Russia was not alone in being unprepared to face this challenge. The majority of the industrialised countries are not ready to counteract terrorism effectively, though they are investing great efforts in this cause. Even huge sums of money and advanced technologies are not enough to solve this problem. Suicide bombers have become one of the most hideous weapons of international terrorism. Even the most experienced counter-terrorist experts, the Israelis, do not yet know how to combat this evil. As Moscow reverberated to the sounds of yesterday's explosion, suicide bombers targeted buses in Israel. Nor is classical Islam prepared for an effective struggle against terrorism. Armed people in a mosque, and explosives at Muslim cemeteries (this has happened more than once in Chechnya and now in Iraq) show how far Islamic radicals have departed from the Koran. The so-called Chechen trace more often than not leads to other countries rather than Grozny, and not only because the Brigade Islambuli has claimed responsibility for the latest terrorist attacks. Suicide bombers come from Chechnya, but are not trained there, as encouraging a woman to kill is not typical for the Chechen people. Making women into zombie-like suicide bombers, financing their training and organising terrorist attacks all began abroad, where suicide bombers are usually trained. Russia is only part of the vast territory where the war on terrorism is being waged. This is obviously a protracted but, unfortunately, not a very successful war. Modern civilisation is only forging an effective weapon against the new evil. Moreover, the efforts of the anti-terrorist coalition remain uncoordinated and split by differences. Those on the front line suffer the most. The countries of Europe that have not yet come under any terrorist attacks one day criticise Israel, then next the Russians for Chechnya (though the situation has long drastically changed there), and then turn their ire on the Americans. The latter condemn Spain for "deserting Iraq", and then grant political asylum to Ilyas Akhmadov, a former foreign minister of the so-called Ichkerian republic. London has also given asylum to Akhmed Zakayev, a leader of the Chechen separatists and terrorists, in a clear demonstration of double standards. So the front line lies between the anti-terrorist coalition members. The war on terrorism cannot be won this way. Russia is not going to surrender and will fight the enemy both by using force and with political methods. The political process in Chechnya will undoubtedly be continued. According to President Putin, "We are ready for a dialogue with all the forces, except for terrorists and separatists." The recent presidential elections in Chechnya, where 80% of the voters came to the polls, clearly indicated that the republic supports the federal centre, which is already a serious force in the war on terror.

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