The phrase "Nord-Ost" became a household name after the tragedy that happened in 2002 at the Theater Center on Dubrovka in Moscow. This is the name of the musical staged based on the novel "Two Captains", the theater troupe and spectators of which became hostages of the terrorists who seized the theater.
Preparing a terrorist attack
The tragic events on Dubrovka, which claimed the lives of 130 hostages, took place from 23 to 26 October 2002. As the investigation later showed, preparations for a large-scale terrorist attack had been carried out since the beginning of 2002.
The final decision to carry out a large-scale terrorist attack in Moscow was made at a meeting of Chechen field commanders in the summer of 2002. The sabotage group of terrorists was headed by Movsar Barayev, the nephew of the odious Chechen bandit Arbi Barayev, who was killed in 2001.
Direct active actions to prepare the terrorist attack began immediately after the meeting of the militants. Gradually, militants and suicide bombers arrived in Moscow in small groups, weapons and explosives were delivered in the trunks of cars arriving from Chechnya. By mid-October, all preparatory activities were completed. On October 23, a group of terrorists gathered in full force and alert at the parking lot of international buses in Luzhniki. Having plunged into the minibuses that were waiting for them, the terrorists moved towards the Theater Center on Dubrovka.
Capture the shopping center
The militants drove up to the center building at 21:05, neutralizing several guards armed with stun guns, the terrorists rushed into the concert hall and began to search the back rooms. At the time of the seizure, there were 916 people in the building; in the first minutes of the seizure, a small group of people managed to leave the building through emergency exits and windows.
After the seizure of the building and the announcement of all the people in it hostages, the militants proceeded to mine the concert hall. Explosive devices were placed along the walls at a distance of 5 meters from each other. In the center of the hall and on the balcony were installed cargo car receivers, inside which were placed high-explosive fragmentation shells lined with plastic and striking elements. The suicide bombs, tied with shahid belts, spread across the hall in a checkerboard pattern.
By 22:00, law enforcement agencies and President Putin became aware of the seizure, OMON, reinforced police units, internal troops and special forces began to quickly move to the center. By midnight, the building was completely cordoned off and blocked, the first negotiations began, during which terrorists put forward demands for an end to hostilities and the withdrawal of troops from Chechnya. After that, during the night from 23 to 24 October, the militants release a small group of hostages - children, women, foreigners and Muslims. During this period, 2 people Olga Romanova and a military man with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Vasiliev, who were shot by terrorists, enter the building.
From the morning of October 24 to the morning of October 26, active negotiations were held with the militants, in which well-known politicians, entrepreneurs, show business stars and public figures took part. During the negotiations, the militants released several dozen more hostages. All this time, the people who remained in the building were subjected to physical and moral humiliation.
On the evening of October 24, the Al-Jazeera TV channel broadcasted a pre-recorded appeal from the commander of the militant group Movsar Barayev, in which the final demands of the terrorists were outlined. In the afternoon of October 25, a meeting of the president with the heads of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs was held in the Kremlin, after which the head of the FSB Patrushev made an official statement. The statement said that if the militants released all the hostages, their lives would be spared.
Neither the negotiations nor the official statement voiced by Patrushev yielded any positive results. The militants were extremely aggressive and shot several hostages. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a special operation. In a matter of hours, an assault plan was developed, during which it was decided to use a sleep gas. The use of gas made it possible to avoid blowing up the building and the death of all hostages without exception.
Storm
The seizure of the center by the Central Security Service of the FSB began at night on October 26 with the penetration of a special forces group into the technical rooms of the first floor, through which access to ventilation was obtained and gas was released. At 5:30 am, 3 explosions are heard near the building and automatic fire begins. At 6:00, the assault began, during which almost all the militants were destroyed and most of the hostages were freed. At 6:30 dozens of ambulances and the Ministry of Emergency Situations began to promptly drive up to the center on Dubrovka. At the same time, a representative of the FSB made an official statement that the bulk of the militants, led by Barayev, had been destroyed, and that the shopping center was under the full control of the special services.
According to official statements by representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the operation, 40 militants were killed, more than 750 hostages were released, and 67 people were killed. Later, several dozen of the released hostages died in hospitals, the death toll reached 130 people.