22 March 2025
by Lev Shlosberg
Source: Telegram
18+ THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED BY LEV MARKOVICH SHLOSBERG, A FOREIGN AGENT, OR CONCERNS THE ACTIVITIES OF LEV MARKOVICH SHLOSBERG, A FOREIGN AGENT [This capitalised text is published by Lev Shlosberg as a requirement imposed by Russia’s foreign agent legislation and is reproduced here for information purposes only – to illustrate the repressive nature of Russian law – RiR]
A year ago, Crocus City Hall – one of Russia’s major shopping and entertainment hubs in Krasnogorsk, north-west of Moscow – was attacked by terrorists. As of 3 April 2024 it was estimated (in figures cannot as yet be considered complete and final) that at least 145 people died, including six children, and 551 people were wounded as a result of the gunfire and fire (smoke inhalation). A year ago and the horror of what happened has frozen, like a freeze-frame; the official investigation into the events has not been completed and many key questions remain unanswered.
Why were repeated warnings from the American intelligence services, which listed Crocus City Hall as a potential target for terrorists, ignored? Why did they not increase security measures at the building? To what extent was the building itself prepared for such an eventuality? Was it built in accordance with all regulations? What happened to the building’s firefighting systems – for the 6,200-seat concert hall in particular? What could the law enforcement authorities have done differently? Could they have done more to protect people once the attack had started? What actions did the police take? Why, 18 minutes after the terrorist attack had started, were the authorities still not on the trail of the terrorists?
They were very quick in revealing the terrorists’ identity to the public, video of the confessions of suspects with clear signs of having been tortured were shown on TV. The investigation continues, however, and the case has not yet gone to court.
The Agalarov family, particularly the owner and President of Crocus Group – Aras Agalarov – have already been declared free of responsibility for what happened, including for the condition of the building and its security preparedness.
The Crocus City Hall attack will go down as one of Russian history’s deadliest atrocities…
1995. The seizure of hostages at the Budennovsk hospital;
1996. The seizure of hostages at the Pervomayskoye-Kizlyar airbase; the bombing of the apartment building in Kaspiisk;
1999. The truck explosion in Buinaksk; the bombing of apartment buildings in Guryanova Street and Kashirskoe Shosse in Moscow; the bombing of the apartment building in Volgodonsk;
2000. The bombing of the Pushkin Square underpass in Moscow;
2002. The bombing of the outdoor market in Vladikavkaz; the explosion in Kaspiisk on Victory Day; the seizure by terrorist of the Dubrovka theatre (then showing the Nord-Ost musical); the truck explosions outside the government building in Chechnya.
2003. The truck explosion in the village of Znamenskoe, Chechnya; the bombing of the rock concert at Tushino airfield in Moscow; the bombing of two trains on the Kislovodsk-Mineralnye Vody line; the suicide bombing of the National Hotel in Moscow.
2004. The bombing of an underground metro train travelling between Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations in Moscow; the bombing of the Dynamo Stadium in Grozny; the bombing of an outdoor market in Samara; the bombing of civilian airliners flying from Moscow to Volgograd and to Sochi; the bombing of the Rizhskaya metro station in Moscow; the seizure by terrorists of School No. 1 in Beslan.
2007. The bombing of the Nevsky express train from Moscow to St. Petersburg at the Burga-Malaya Vishera station.
2010. Bombings in Makhachkala; the bombing in Nazran; bomb explosions at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations in Moscow; the bombing in Kizlyar.
2011. The Domodedovo airport bombing;
2013. The blowing up of the Volgograd train station; the blowing up of the trolleybus in Volograd’s Dzerzhinsky district.
2015. An Airbus 321 belonging to the Kogalymavia airline blew up over Sinai.
2017. The bombing of an underground metro train travelling between Sennaya Polshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations in St. Petersburg.
2018. The terrorist attack on the Kerch Polytechnic College.
We must also remember the Kursk Submarine Disaster (2000), the fire at the Khromaya Loshchad nightclub in Perm (2009), and the fire a the Zimnyaya Vishnya nightclub in Kemerovo (2018).
We continue to feel the pain of the Crocus City Hall tragedy; it is a deep wound.
The war has continued in the year since 22 March 2024, seeing new deaths daily. Over the year, thousands died. Society has become inured to daily death tolls. Yesterday’s deaths are forgotten with news of today’s. Becoming used to death is, in itself, murderous.
War and terror go hand in hand. One of our greatest weapons against terrorism is the fight to eradicate war.
Translated by Oscar Seecharan
