The Moscow theater hostage crisis was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater in Moscow by Chechen terrorists on 23 October 2002, resulting in the taking of 912 hostages. The attackers, led by Movsar Barayev, claimed allegiance to the Islamist separatist movement in Chechnya. They demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War. The crisis was resolved when Russian security services released sleeping gas into the building, and subsequently stormed it, killing all 40 hostage takers. 132 hostages died, largely due to the effects of the gas.
Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov is a Russian politician and current Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the separatist-appointed mufti of Chechnya. He is a colonel general in the Russian military.
The Beslan school siege was an Islamic terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004. It lasted three days, and involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages, ending with the deaths of 334 people, 186 of them children, as well as 31 of the attackers. It is considered the deadliest school shooting in history.
Black Widow or Shahidka, is a term for Islamist Chechen female suicide bombers, willing to be a manifestation of violent jihad. They became known at the Moscow theater hostage crisis of October 2002. The commander Shamil Basayev referred to the shahidkas as a part of force of his suicide bombers called the Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs. Basayev also stated that he himself trained at least fifty of the Black Widows. The female suicide bombers have carried out over 65% of the 23 terrorist attacks linked to the Chechen movement since 2000. The Black Widows are associated with terrorist attacks in Chechnya between 1999 and 2005.
Novaya Gazeta is an independent Russian newspaper. It is known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs, the horrors of the Chechen wars, corruption among the ruling elite, and increasing authoritarianism in Russia. It was formerly published in Moscow until shortly after the war began, in regions within Russia, and in some foreign countries. The print edition is published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; English-language articles on the website are published on a weekly basis in the form of the Russia, Explained newsletter. As of 2023, the newspaper had a daily print circulation of 108,000, and online visits of 613,000.
Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian investigative journalist who reported on political and social events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999–2005).
The 141st Special Motorized Regiment, also known as the Kadyrovites and the Akhmat special forces unit, is a paramilitary organization in Chechnya, Russia, that serves as the protection of the Head of the Chechen Republic. The term Kadyrovtsy is commonly used in Chechnya to refer to any armed, ethnically-Chechen men under the control of Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, although nominally they are under the umbrella of the National Guard of Russia. As of 2023, the regiment's official commander was Adam Delimkhanov, a close ally of Kadyrov.
Sergei (Sergey) Lapin, also known by his radio communications call sign Kadet ("Cadet"), is a former Russian police officer who had served in Grozny, Chechnya as a Lieutenant in the OMON from the Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug. He has been convicted for the torture and "disappearance" of a Chechen student.
On 7 October 2006, Russian journalist, writer and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow. She was known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and for criticism of Vladimir Putin. She authored several books about the Chechen wars, as well as Putin's Russia, and received several international awards for her work. Her murder, believed to be a contract killing, sparked a strong international reaction. Three Chechens were arrested for the murder, but were acquitted. The verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court of Russia and new trials were held. In total, six people were convicted of charges related to her death.
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organised crime. A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he advised British intelligence and coined the term "mafia state".
Putin's Russia is a political commentary book by the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya about events and life in Russia under Vladimir Putin.
Sergei Nikolayevich Yushenkov was a liberal Russian politician. He was assassinated on 17 April 2003, just hours after registering his political party to participate in the December 2003 parliamentary elections.
Since the start of the Second Chechen War in 1999, Russian federal authorities are alleged to have implemented a plan to use legal and extralegal methods to limit media access to the conflict region.
The Komsomolskoye massacre occurred following the Battle of Komsomolskoye during the Second Chechen War in March 2000. A prominent feature in the incident was the fate of a group of about 72 Chechen combatants who had surrendered on 20 March on a Russian public promise of amnesty, but had almost all either died or "disappeared" shortly after they were detained.
The poison laboratory of the Soviet secret services, alternatively known as Laboratory 1, Laboratory 12, and Kamera, was a covert research-and-development facility of the Soviet secret police agencies. Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the laboratory manufactured and tested poisons, and was reportedly reactivated by the Russian government in the late 1990s.
Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB is a book written by Alexander Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko about the life and death of her husband, former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned by the radioactive element polonium in London in November 2006.
The assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist, writer, and recipient of numerous international awards, took place on Saturday, 7 October 2006. She was found shot dead in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow. Her murder, viewed as a contract killing, sparked a strong international reaction.
Viv Groskop is a British journalist, writer and comedian. She has written for publications including The Guardian, Evening Standard, The Observer, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Red magazine. She writes on arts, books, popular culture and current affairs, identifying as a feminist. Groskop is a stand-up comedian, MC and improviser who was a finalist in Funny Women 2012 and semi-finalist in So You Think You're Funny 2012. She is an agony aunt for The Pool and host of the Mint Velvet clothing podcast "We are Women".
Polina Zherebtsova is a Chechen Russian documentarian, poet and author of the diaries Ant in a Glass Jar, covering her childhood, adolescence and youth that witnessed two Chechen wars.
