There’s an event that’s been haunting Vladimir Putin for the past two decades. It’s not his past in the KGB, nor the multiple ‘mysterious deaths’ that seem to afflict those who go against him.
It’s 334 dead Russian civilians – 186 of them children – who were taken hostage by Chechen and Ingush rebels in a school in Beslan, Russia.
The rescue mission that ensued – with seemingly little regard for civilian life – saw Russian security forces use immense force to eliminate the terrorists. But it wasn’t just the enemy that lose their lives that day. Many men, women and children who had been held against their will also ended up dead, while others were left maimed for life.
Twenty years after the horrific events which began on September 1, 2004, the families of those who died have not forgotten and are still fighting for justice from a government that they believe was somewhat complicit in the deaths of their loved ones.
On the morning of September 1, 2004, children began turning up to School Number One in Beslan, Russia, for ‘Knowledge Day’. Accompanied by their parents and other members of their families, many pupils were excited for the ‘first day’ ceremonies welcoming them back to school.
Before the clock struck 12, dozens of armed terrorists wearing military camouflage and balaclavas stormed the school and took more than 1,100 people hostage.
After hearing about the situation, journalist Simon Ostrovsky, then a reporter for the Moscow Times, traveled to Beslan to report on the situation.
‘The tensions were extraordinarily high because everybody had family members or children or knew somebody who was in the school,’ he tells Metro.
Referring to the third day of the siege, when Russian security forces accidentally detonated some explosives the gym had been rigged with in a botched attempt to confront the terrorists in the school, Simon explains: ‘Everybody in the town was incredibly worried – and when the explosions happened, it took everybody by surprise.
‘At one moment it was a tense situation in the town that had been the same for several days, then suddenly explosions rang out and gunfire went off that lasted for what felt like hours.’
With many of the hostages left dead – 186 of them children – the chaos of the rescue mission was Simon’s first ‘direct experience’ with the way Russia deals with crisis situations.
‘It was shocking to see how little care there was that went into trying to protect lives when carrying out the rescue operation,’ he remembers.
‘A large portion of the people who were being held died as a result of what happened and the way the rescue operation was carried out.’
Putin was criticised at the time of the siege for not visiting the site publicly.
In a speech given shortly after the tragedy, he said declared a two-day period of mourning and said: ‘We showed ourselves to be weak. And the weak get beaten.’
He only visited Beslan officially this month – two decades years after the event – where he met with the parents of the survivors.
Even so, the Russian president deflected conversation about what had gone on, as he spoke to the group, choosing to focus on ‘defeating neo-Nazis’ in the Donbas and Kursk regions.
Putin told them: ‘[Terrorists] have no morals or principles, they have only their interests. Russia defeated terrorists in the Caucasus, and it will defeat neo-Nazis committing crimes in the Donbas and Kursk region.’
There is no doubt that what happened at School Number One in Beslan twenty years ago is a tragedy which has deeply wounded the small Russian town.
All but one of the terrorists were killed in the siege, with the lone survivor, Nurpashi Kulayev, sentenced to life in prison.
But questions remain about the execution of the ‘rescue mission’ and whether or not security service had intelligence about potential attacks in the region before Beslan unfolded.
In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia failed to protect hostages in the siege, ultimately contributing to the more than 330 deaths.
Russia responded by slamming the ruling as ‘utterly unacceptable’ – however, witnesses and survivors of the siege maintain that Russian security forces were ‘chaotic’, used ‘excessive force’ and heavy weapons.
This response from Russia is not unique, Simon points out. ‘Around that time, Putin was ending the second Chechen war through overwhelming force – again, no concern for civilian casualties,’ he explains.
‘It sort of set the mold for a pattern of behavior over the course of two decades of Putin’s rule that we are continuing to see today.’
Meanwhile, Russian expert at the think tank Chatham House, Keir Giles, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘Beslan would be an albatross around Putin’s neck if he cared.
‘As it is, it’s just another situation where the Russian state has caused misery, death and destruction to its citizens with impunity.’
Simon also said even if the Kremlin had been tipped off to a potential terrorist attack like that in Beslan, the internal politics of the government ruled by Putin could mean he may not have heard about it.
‘There’s an incentive to pass good news up the chain of command, which means that legitimate threats, like that of Beslan, might fall through the cracks because nobody wants to be responsible for being the bearer of bad news,’ explains Simon.
‘This is an ongoing thing where their expectations for what’s going to happen are twisted by their own propaganda and their own viewpoint.’
One such example is the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow in March, where more than 145 people died after terrorists burst in and began shooting concert goers before setting fire to the hall.
It was revealed that Russia had actually been tipped off to a potential terrorist attack – but did not act on the warnings.
This is normal for Russia, Keir Giles explains. ‘If avoiding civilian casualties was important to Russia, then yes, they would look to the expertise of other countries and how to do it as it is.
‘They have had plenty of offers of assistance with security forces dealing with this kind of threat and Russia has rejected them because it is not in keeping with how they address these situations.’
What Russia does do, Keir says, is hunt down those behind these incidents – terrorists from Tajikistan, associated with the Islamic State in relation to the Crocus Attack – and flex videos of torture against the perpetrators (with one of the men having his ear cut off and fed to him).
Putin is known for dealing with enemies of Russia with force, he adds, but when that force is brought to Russia, more civilians are hurt in the response than needed.
‘If Putin is not presented with some kind of meaningful deterrent, he will continue to do what he does,’ Keir warns.
‘I think the lesson here is that if Putin isn’t dealt with forcefully, these kinds of events that end up hurting both Russian civilians and foreigners are going to keep on happening,’ adds Simon.
‘A world with Putin in charge of Russia is never going to be a world at peace.’
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