List of people allegedly involved in the 1999 Russian apartment bombings

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The Russian apartment bombings were a series of five bombings in Russia that took place in Moscow and two other Russian towns during ten days of September 1999. Altogether nearly 300 civilians were killed at night. The bombings, together with the Dagestan War, led the country into the Second Chechen War. Chechen militants were blamed but no Chechen field commander accepted responsibility for the bombings and Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov denied any involvement of his government.

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The bombings ceased when a similar bomb was found and defused in an apartment block in the Russian city of Ryazan on September 23. Later in the evening Vladimir Putin praised the vigilance of the Ryzanians and ordered the air bombing of Grozny, which marked the beginning of the Second Chechen War. [1] A few hours later, three FSB agents who had planted the bomb were caught by the local police. This incident was declared to be a training exercise by FSB director Nikolai Patrushev.

Russian Parliament member Yuri Shchekochikhin filed two motions for a parliamentary investigation of the events, but the motions were rejected by the Russian Duma in March 2000. An independent [2] public commission to investigate the bombings chaired by Duma deputy Sergei Kovalev was hampered by government refusal to respond to its inquiries, and its chairmen admitted that he has no evidence to support any version of the events. [3] [4] Two key members of the Kovalev Commission, Sergei Yushenkov and Yuri Shchekochikhin, both Duma members, have since died in apparent assassinations. The Commission's lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin was arrested.

A number of people were convicted or accused of involvement in the bombings.

Official suspects

According to official investigation, the following people either delivered explosives, stored them, or harbored other suspects:

Arab-born Mujahid Ibn al-Khattab who was killed by the FSB in 2002.

Moscow bombings

Volgodonsk bombing

Buinaksk bombing

FSB and GRU suspects

The suspicious events led to allegations that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya and bring Vladimir Putin and the FSB to power. This theory is promoted in books by David Satter, [26] [27] Yuri Felshtinsky and Vladimir Pribylovsky. [28] It was also supported by Alexander Litvinenko and Anna Politkovskaya, who were assassinated. [29] According to them, the following suspects have been involved: [28]

Aleksey Galkin, a GRU officer, was captured and tortured by Chechen separatists in 1999. In a video statement the captors coerced him to make, he said that a team of twelve GRU operatives conducted bombings in the city of Buynaksk under general command of Lieutenant General Nikolai Kostechko.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibn al-Khattab</span> Saudi jihadist (1963/1969–2002)

Samir Saleh Abdullah al-Suwailim, commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or as Emir Khattab, was a Saudi pan-Islamic jihadist. Though he fought in many conflicts, he is best known for his involvement in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War, which he participated in after moving to Chechnya at the invitation of the Akhmadov brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Russian apartment bombings</span> Terrorist bombings in Russia

The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing more than 300, injuring more than 1,000, and spreading a wave of fear across the country. The bombings, together with the Invasion of Dagestan, triggered the Second Chechen War. The handling of the crisis by Vladimir Putin, who was prime minister at the time, boosted his popularity greatly and helped him attain the presidency within a few months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev</span> Chechen politician (1952–2004)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev</span> 2004 murder in Doha, Qatar

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Achemez Gochiyayev is a Russian citizen who was accused of organizing the Russian apartment bombings, a series of terrorist acts in 1999 that killed 307 people and led the country into the Second Chechen War. The five bombings took place during two weeks between September 4 and September 16, 1999, in Moscow, and the southern towns of Buynaksk and Volgodonsk. Gochiyayev has not been arrested or convicted and ostensibly remains a fugitive; he has not been seen since early March 2002.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Alex Goldfarb, with Marina Litvinenko Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB , The Free Press, 2007, ISBN   1-4165-5165-4
  2. ↑ Russian Federation: Amnesty International's concerns and recommendations in the case of Mikhail Trepashkin - Amnesty International Archived 2009-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Московские новости". Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  4. ↑ "Радиостанция "Эхо Москвы" / Передачи / Интервью / Четверг, 25.07.2002: Сергей Ковалев". Archived from the original on Feb 16, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "ACHIMEZ GOCHIYAYEV: RUSSIA'S TERRORIST ENIGMA RETURNS". Archived from the original on Sep 30, 2007.
  6. ↑ Gochiyayev's wanted page Archived 2005-03-18 at the Wayback Machine on FSB web site.
  7. ↑ Saradzhyan, Simon (Sep 1, 2006). "Russia: Grasping the Reality of Nuclear Terror". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 607 (1): 64–77. doi:10.1177/0002716206290964. S2CID   145500667 – via SAGE Journals.
  8. ↑ "Putin's defense sector appointees".
  9. 1 2 3 4 Only one explosions suspect still free Archived 2012-12-21 at archive.today , Kommersant , December 10, 2002.
  10. ↑ Karachayev terrorists found in the morgue, Kommersant, June 8, 2004.
  11. ↑ "Грани.Ру: Процесс о взрывах жилых домов: адвокат Адама Деккушева просит его полного оправдания". graniru.org.
  12. 1 2 "Газета.Ru – Court starts hearings into 'hexogen case'". www.gazeta.ru.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2012-01-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Separatists Tied to '99 Bombings.
  14. 1 2 Two life sentences for 246 murders Archived 2010-10-29 at the Wayback Machine , Kommersant , January 13, 2004.
  15. ↑ A terrorist has imprisoned a policeman, Kommersant , May 15, 2003.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ПРИЧАСТНЫЕ К ВЗРЫВАМ В МОСКВЕ УСТАНОВЛЕНЫ". Archived from the original on Oct 4, 2006.
  17. ↑ NEWS FROM RUSSIA",Vol.VI, Issue No.18, dated 1st May 2003 Archived 2007-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
  18. 1 2 3 "Disrupting Escalation of Terror in Russia to Prevent Catastrophic Attacks" (PDF).[ dead link ]
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Buinaksk terrorists sentenced to life, Kommersant , March 20, 2001.
  20. ↑ "JURIST | School of Law | University of Pittsburgh". www.law.pitt.edu. Archived from the original on 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  21. ↑ Jury acquitted a Buinaksk suspect, Lenta.Ru, 2006 Jan 24.
  22. ↑ Jury acquitted a Buinaksk suspect again, Lenta.Ru, 2006 November 13.
  23. ↑ Khattab said: Your task is small Archived 2007-11-05 at the Wayback Machine , Kommersant , November 13, 2006.
  24. ↑ One More Participant of Terrorist Act in Buinaksk, Dagestan, Detained in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan Archived 2012-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ↑ They should be blown up, not put on trial, Kommersant , April 10, 2002.
  26. ↑ "David Satter - House committee on Foreign Affairs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on Sep 27, 2011.
  27. ↑ David Satter. Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State. Yale University Press. 2003. ISBN   0-300-09892-8.
  28. 1 2 Vladimir Pribylovsky and Yuri Felshtinsky) The Age of Assassins. The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin, Gibson Square Books, London, 2008, ISBN   1-906142-07-6;
  29. ↑ Tegenlicht documentary VPRO 2007, In Memoriam Aleksander Litvinenko, Jos de Putter, Moscow 2004 Interview with Anna Politkovskaya.
  30. ↑ "Адмирал ФСБ - Дух воинский - Православное воинство - РУССКОЕ ВОСКРЕСЕНИЕ; ?>". www.voskres.ru.
  31. ↑ "Center for Defense Information". Project On Government Oversight. Archived from the original on Feb 14, 2007.
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