Volgograd Bombing

[+and-then]

This was CCTV of the explosion. Sochi is just 6 weeks away ...

[toast]

The world is sick.

[Frank Merton]

A certain part of the world is sick. Most of us are doing okay.

[Kaa-Tzik]

This is police Senior Sergeant Dmitry Makovkin, 29 years, who had only joined the police this year after 9 years army service. He was highly regarded and very professional. Witnesses, who survived of course, have told that he was on duty at the entrance to the station, and approached a woman who was acting very suspiciously, these bombers tend to do that, though not everybody notices until too late. His swift actions caused her to detonate prematurely before she could enter into the main body of the station. Had she done so, the numbers of casualties would have been much more severe. The terrorist was an known associate of the October bus bomber, and it is possible that Sergeant Makovkin recognised her face from "mugshots", and knew he was dealing with a potential bomber, though of course he has not survived to say. He died doing his duty, and his actions certainly made sure that less people were killed and injured than if he had not taken action. He will certainly be recognised for this.

[+and-then]

This is police Senior Sergeant Dmitry Makovkin, 29 years, who had only joined the police this year after 9 years army service. He was highly regarded and very professional. Witnesses, who survived of course, have told that he was on duty at the entrance to the station, and approached a woman who was acting very suspiciously, these bombers tend to do that, though not everybody notices until too late. His swift actions caused her to detonate prematurely before she could enter into the main body of the station. Had she done so, the numbers of casualties would have been much more severe. The terrorist was an known associate of the October bus bomber, and it is possible that Sergeant Makovkin recognised her face from "mugshots", and knew he was dealing with a potential bomber, though of course he has not survived to say. He died doing his duty, and his actions certainly made sure that less people were killed and injured than if he had not taken action. He will certainly be recognised for this.

I hope he is duly honored and that his family find peace after this senseless act. I also hope that Sochi doesn't become another Olympic games we say in a hushed tones like Munich.

[Ealdwita]

I wonder who's behind this.....let me think....

[Mr.United_Nations]

I wonder who's behind this.....let me think....

Dolphins

[bmk1245]

Madness continues... Now trolley gets blasted...

[Leonardo]

So, Russia pays the price for supporting the Assad regime against the extremist element in the Syrian insurgency, as well as the price of being the peace-keeper when other nations were all to willing to jump into war.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Leonardo

[SHaYap]

I believe there is some left over hatred from the Libyan 'Crisis' involved here too ....

~

[Mr.United_Nations]

So, Russia pays the price for supporting the Assad regime against the extremist element in the Syrian insurgency, as well as the price of being the peace-keeper when other nations were all to willing to jump into war.

got nothing to do with Syria, Russia has had thus problem before ww1 and even way back then in that region

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Dolphins

Damn those blowhole breathing b*******.

[libstaK]

A certain part of the world is sick. Most of us are doing okay.

Certain people in a large variety of places in the world are sick - they are the minority, I agree with the rest, the majority of us are doing ok.

[libstaK]

Chechen Separatists, specifically The Caucasus Emirate seem to be hot favorites for this - also there has now been a second bombing.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/30/world/europe/russia-terrorist-attacks-explainer/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

From the article:

Authorities quickly labeled both acts terrorist attacks. And while no group immediately claimed responsibility, suspicion quickly fell on Chechen separatist groups.

One in particular, the Caucasus Emirate, has said it will expend "maximum force" in disrupting the Olympic games in Sochi.

2nd Bombing - 14 dead

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/30/world/europe/russia-volgograd-explosion/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

[Kaa-Tzik]

It is true that the issues go back to 19th Century, and were then compounded by Stalin during the war. Yet in recent years the situation has been artificially aggravated by foreigners who provide money, training and materiel. The religion is Sunni with a sizable number of Suffis spread over the three Muslim regions. These foreigners have subverted some discontented people to Wahhabism and put the idea into their heads to attempt to form a Muslim emirate in the Caucasus. If this were to happen, the next step would be a Wahhabist attempt to take control of Azerbaijan, thus giving these foreigners a border with their enemy, Iran. It is too easy to look at the north Caucasus situation and say it is simply all about events that began in 19th century. It has moved on and there is a much bigger and far more dangerous "game" being played. In Russian media and social media are conflicting views about who is responsible and why these attacks happen. As can be expected, there are demands for the moritorium on the death penalty to be lifted, though this is unlikely, unless more attacks happen in quick succession and public anger reaches a dangerous stage. Among many and varied comments across Russian social media, there is one trend, not a majority though, that sticks out repeatedly, and that is a call to deal with the foreigners who will gain by these murders. At the moment it is the hot heads who call for action, if there is another bomb tomorrow, or in the next days, then I think on social media it will be more than the hotheads calling for an attack on the foreigners. I think all can guess who I mean. I'm being "discrete" and almost polite simply not to raise temperatures.....

At the time I post this, the baby boy of about 6 months fights for his life. Nobody has come forward to say the child is theirs, so it is presumed both his parents died on the bus. Fires are being stoked, cui bono.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Kaa-Tzik

[libstaK]

Thanks Kaa-Tzik, very informative - I do hope the baby makes it thru this and that there is family waiting for him, if not his parents then grandparents or aunts and uncles at the very least.

[Kaa-Tzik]

Very confusing about the fate of the baby, as it could be expected. Some media report it is a boy, some as a girl, though all report it being between 6 and 8 months and alive and in a coma on arrival at hospital. The numbers for deaths on Russian media has remained at 14, and no further mention of the fate of the baby. Curiously, some western media report 15 deaths, including a baby of one year. But there is always confusion in such times.

I know some here look at RT, and may have seen reports of arrests of demonstrators on "Heroes Road" in central Volgograd. This is true. On a "nationalist" group on Russian FB equivalent, VK, was a call to gather and demonstrate, and more than 12 000 members of this group voted to go. How many even live in Volgograd Region let alone in Volgograd city is another question.... In the event, a few dozen people appeared, with candles, and were promptly arrested by security/riot police OMON (in latin). This is fear, fear that all governments face when they realise they cannot protect their citizens. If there is another bomb, then it will not be a few dozen people with candles, it will be tens of thousands with angry faces and raised fists, and the police may feel they should be joining them....

All official New Year events with children have been cancelled, and it seems that many of those organising private events have reported they will also cancel. This, in Russia, is the same as cancelling Christmas and New Year together, and even jokey TV shows have been pulled from broadcast as the mood for festivities has gone.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, going against his style, has added his voice to those saying not to bring back death sentence, correctly reasoning that if you are executing people, then you have failed, as you should be preventing these attrocities from happening in the first place.

And Sergei Lavrov has just said that these terrorist attacks, with those in Boston, Syria, Libya, Afhanistan, Iraq and other countries, all have a "common template" and a "common mastermind". When this "common mastermind" is confronted openly, when the diplomatic facade is dropped and the villains publicly named, what will happen? I don't know, except it will be a very dangerous time, and the Isreali/Palestine problem will look easy to solve in comparrison.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Kaa-Tzik

[Kaa-Tzik]

Thanks Kaa-Tzik, very informative - I do hope the baby makes it thru this and that there is family waiting for him, if not his parents then grandparents or aunts and uncles at the very least.

At the time of this post, the baby, now identified as a girl named Viktoria, is still alive. In the list of names they only give her family name as "T". All named victims with a name begining with "T", one wounded and two dead, are men with different family names and none have a given name to match Victoria's patronymic of Vasilevna. Three of the dead are unidentified, two women and one man. I start to suspect that Victoria may have been travelling with her maternal grandparents, or other relatives, and that hopefully her parents are alive. The youngest of the known dead in today's attack is 23 or 24. In the Station attack two children died, both boys, born in 2001 and 2002.

[libstaK]

Thanks for the update Kaa-Tzik, a miracle baby in the midst of this horror would be so good.

I am wondering about the Sochi games now. This is going to raise the spectre of withdrawal by some competitors or countries if Russia's security is not equal to preventing these kind of attacks. Moreover, there is the issue of the reaction of the public at large who were planning to attend - how many are going to reconsider? And how many overseas visitors are going to reconsider?

The otherside of the coin is that the terrorists win because Russia and all participating countries will now have to review and put their security response around the games into overdrive which is going to blow out costs for everybody.

[acidhead]

Just curious. ..

Why Sochi? Why an area so close to the Caucus states?

If I was an athlete I wouldn't be going. Its like holding the O in Afghanistan.

[+and-then]

It is true that the issues go back to 19th Century, and were then compounded by Stalin during the war. Yet in recent years the situation has been artificially aggravated by foreigners who provide money, training and materiel. The religion is Sunni with a sizable number of Suffis spread over the three Muslim regions. These foreigners have subverted some discontented people to Wahhabism and put the idea into their heads to attempt to form a Muslim emirate in the Caucasus. If this were to happen, the next step would be a Wahhabist attempt to take control of Azerbaijan, thus giving these foreigners a border with their enemy, Iran. It is too easy to look at the north Caucasus situation and say it is simply all about events that began in 19th century. It has moved on and there is a much bigger and far more dangerous "game" being played. In Russian media and social media are conflicting views about who is responsible and why these attacks happen. As can be expected, there are demands for the moritorium on the death penalty to be lifted, though this is unlikely, unless more attacks happen in quick succession and public anger reaches a dangerous stage. Among many and varied comments across Russian social media, there is one trend, not a majority though, that sticks out repeatedly, and that is a call to deal with the foreigners who will gain by these murders. At the moment it is the hot heads who call for action, if there is another bomb tomorrow, or in the next days, then I think on social media it will be more than the hotheads calling for an attack on the foreigners. I think all can guess who I mean. I'm being "discrete" and almost polite simply not to raise temperatures.....

At the time I post this, the baby boy of about 6 months fights for his life. Nobody has come forward to say the child is theirs, so it is presumed both his parents died on the bus. Fires are being stoked, cui bono.

I'm not trying to undo the courtesy TK but I'm genuinely lost to your meaning - who do they think is benefiting? From here it seems that everyone would be blaming Saudi Arabia since an offer was reportedly made by the leadership to STOP any attacks by Muslim radicals on the games. If they can stop them then surely they would be seen to be responsible for not doing so.

[Kaa-Tzik]

I'm not trying to undo the courtesy TK but I'm genuinely lost to your meaning - who do they think is benefiting? From here it seems that everyone would be blaming Saudi Arabia since an offer was reportedly made by the leadership to STOP any attacks by Muslim radicals on the games. If they can stop them then surely they would be seen to be responsible for not doing so.

I know many point to the words of Saudis, but that is a "red herring" as there were no threats made, a probable clumsy attempt at bribery of one state by another, but not threats. On internet we all know the levels of cynicism are ridiculously high, and on any forum dealing with these affairs there is a huge amount of posing, flying kites, trolling and other reptillian behaviour. So, when I said cui bono, it was actually an open question as there are multiple candidates. However, I would think that for any Saudi reading comments about what has happened in Volgograd, and this is comments also outside Russia, then these will be uncomfortable days. I have seen a preponderance of comments on English speaking media sites calling for Riyadh to be nuked right now. Curiously, the most violent anti Saud comments are not from Russians, but from the people of countries whose governments have very cosy relationship with the Saudis, showing a sharp disconnect between the governments and people of those countries, primarily UK and USA.

[Kaa-Tzik]

Just curious. ..

Why Sochi? Why an area so close to the Caucus states?

If I was an athlete I wouldn't be going. Its like holding the O in Afghanistan.

The reasons are quite simple, probably too simple to be believable. Putin likes Sochi, he skis there in the winter, so if you are President it is easy to say Russia's nomination will be Sochi. Another reason, the main reason, is that for a huge country, everything is concentrated on Moscow to a ridiculous degree. Tourists who visit Russia go to Moscow and St Petersburg and what is known as the "Golden Ring" of ancient towns mostly between Moscow and Peterburg. While certainly being very historic and scenic, and covering an area about the size of Germany, it is a tiny part of all Russia. The ordinary tourist will not travel to Altai mountains or anywhere in Siberia, at least not yet and in any numbers. However, southern Russia, the Kuban, the Krasnodar region, has history, scenery, beaches and mountains. It is convenient for Crimea, Turkey and other Black Sea destinations over on the western shores. The area is well known and used by internal Russian tourists, but is probably unknown and exotic for western tourists. Putting Olympics and a F1 race in Sochi will generate western tourists. I'm sure the games will be okay, and will look like winter games for the Alpine events, but Sochi itself will not look very wintery with palm trees and such......