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Terrorism in Russia

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T errorism in Russia has a long history starting from the times of the Russian Empire. Terrorism, in the modern sense, means violence against civilians to achieve political or ideological objectives by creating fear. Terrorism tactics, such as hostage-taking, were widely used by the Soviet secret agencies, most notably during the Red Terror and Great Terror campaigns, against the population of their own country, according to Karl Kautsky and other historians of Bolshevism.

Starting from the end of the 20th century, significant terrorist activity has taken place in Moscow, most notably apartment bombings and the Moscow theater hostage crisis. Many more acts of terrorism have been committed in Chechnya, Dagestan, and other parts of the country. Some of them became a matter of significant controversy, since journalists and scholars claimed them to be directed by the Russian secret services, often through their Chechen agent provocateurs.

1999 Russian apartment bombings


The Russian apartment bombings were a series of bombings in [|Russia] that killed nearly 300 people and, together with the Dagestan War, led the country into the Second Chechen War. The five bombings took place in Moscow and two other Russian towns during ten days of September 1999. None of the Chechen field commanders accepted the responsibility for the bombing. Chechen president [|Aslan Maskhadov] denied involvement of his government.

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The bombings had stopped after a controversial episode 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. A few hours later, three [|FSB] agents who planted the bomb were caught by the local police. This incident was declared to be a "training exercise" by FSB director Nikolai Patrushev.

Former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko, Johns Hopkins University and Hoover Institute scholar David Satter, Russian lawmaker Sergei Yushenkov, historian Felshtinsky, and political scientist Pribylovsky asserted that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB (successor to the [|KGB]) in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya and bring Vladimir Putin and the FSB to power. Researchers such as Gordon Bennett, Robert Bruce Ware, Vlad Sobell, Peter Reddaway and Richard Sakwa have criticized the conspiracy theories, pointing out that the theories' proponents have provided little evidence to support them, and also that the theory ignores the history of Chechen terrorism and threats made by the militants before the bombings. An official investigation of the bombings was completed only three years later, in 2002. It was conducted by the Russian FSB agency.

Seven suspects were killed, six have been convicted on terrorism-related charges, and one remains a fugitive. According to the investigation, all bombings were organized and led by Achemez Gochiyaev - who as of 2007 remained at large.

The Russian [|Duma] rejected two motions for parliamentary investigation of the Ryazan incident. An independent public commission to investigate the bombings chaired by Duma deputy Sergei Kovalev was rendered ineffective because of government refusal to respond to its inquiries. Two key members of the Kovalev Commission, Sergei Yushenkov and Yuri Shchekochikhin, both Duma members, h ave since died in apparent assassinations in April 2003 and July 2003 respectively. The Commission's lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin has been arrested in October 2003 to become one of the better-known political prisoners in Russia.

Other notable terrorism acts
In order to discredit Russia's government, a former FSB officer Aleksander Litvinenko and investigator Mikhail Trepashkin alleged that Moscow theater hostage crisis was directed by a Chechen FSB agent. Just like in the US some people believe in government conspiracy behind the 9/11 attacks (including the "absence" of the remains of the plane that hit the Pentagon) Yulia Latynina and other journalists accused the FSB of staging many [|terrorism] acts, such as market place bombing in the city of Astrakhan, bus stops bombings in the city of Voronezh, and the blowing up the Moscow-Grozny train, whereas innocent people were convicted or killed. In an effort to get publicity, journalist Boris Stomakhin claimed that a bombing in Moscow metro in 2004 was probably organized by FSB agents rather than by the unknown man who called the Kavkaz Center and claimed his responsibility. media type="youtube" key="I_klJFy7P_A" width="467" height="385" align="center"

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Stomakin was arrested and imprisoned to five years of prison for inciting hatred and defamatory statements aimed at groups and persons of particular religious and ethnic background and for promoting violent change of constitutional regime and violation of territorial integrity of Russian Federation (articles 280 and 282 of the Russian Criminal Code). Many journalists and workers of international NGOs were reported to be kidnapped by FSB-affiliated forces in Chechnya who pretended to be Chechen terrorists: Andrei Babitsky from Radio Free Europe, Arjan Erkel and Kenneth Glack from Doctors Without Borders, and others.

Terrorism in Russia and its impact on tourism
The recent terrorist attack on Domodedovo Airport in Moscow is not expected to cause a major drop off in demand in the short term due to the city's reliance on business travel. However, the ongoing violence stemming from the conflict in the Caucasus is likely to threaten the long term development of Russia as a tourism destination as it gears up to attract leisure visitors to the Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup.

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Short term impact will likely be minimal on tourism demand On 24 January 2011, a suicide bomber attacked the arrivals gate at Domodedovo Airport, leaving 36 dead and injuring over 100. The bomber was identified as a 20 year old from the Caucasus region, which is a volatile region with insurgents fighting to separate from Russia. A Chechen rebel leader later claimed responsibility for the attack and promised that these attacks would continue. Domodedovo is the largest airport in Russia with 24 million passengers passing through in 2010—66% of which are international. While the location of the attack suggests it was aimed at harming foreigners, no significant travel warnings were issued against Russia (many already had travel warnings against the Caucasus region in place). Furthermore, the airport returned to normal operations the following day with tightened security. Although horrific, the attacks are not likely to impact tourism to Moscow in the short term. About 56% of tourists visit the city for business reasons, so to a certain extent, the trips are unavoidable. Furthermore, 66% of tourists are from the region and are likely well aware of the risks involved in travelling to Moscow, which has experienced numerous terrorist attacks in recent years, including a lethal attack on the metro in March 2010. In the case of the Mumbai hotel attacks in November 2008, arrivals to Mumbai grew by 2% in 2008 and dipped 3% in 2009, suggesting that Moscow may only see a slight decrease in arrivals as a worst case scenario as Mumbai is far more dependent on leisure and long haul tourists. Growth in arrivals, however, may be possible. Euromonitor International forecasts 2.5% growth in arrivals to the country as a whole in 2011. Moscow experienced only an anemic 1% increase in visitors in 2010 after a disastrous decline of 10% in 2009 due to the recession and wildfires in August 2010 that surrounded the city. A lack of natural disasters and terrorist attacks, coupled with a stronger economic rebound, could cause arrivals to rebound strongly in 2011, despite a short term drop due to the terrorist attack.

Long term consequences
In 2014, Russia will host the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The government has put together a US$12 billion investment package to prepare the city for the Winter Games with the government covering 60% of the cost and private investors the remaining 40%. In addition to the financial stakes, Russia's reputation as a tourism destination is also at stake, especially as the country plans to make Sochi into an international ski and resort destination after the Games. Ongoing deadly terrorist attacks could undermine demand for the Games among international visitors. This is further compounded by the fact that Russia did not tighten security when it received intelligence warning of the airport attack. However, it seems that the government is taking the potential threats to the Games seriously. In February 2011, industry sources reported that Russia will spend US$2 billion on security during the games—more than double the cost of security at the Vancouver games. While this is a step in the right direction, Russia will need to make a concerted effort to demonstrate its seriousness about safety and security at this high profile event over the next four years to ensure high attendance, and similarly for the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

See also: Russia’s Counterterrorism Policy Roots of terrorism in Russia — an expert weighs in