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http://www.iht.com/articles/537423.html
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Dread in Moscow: Are churches next target?
Seth Mydan and Erin E. Arvedlund/NYT NYT September 06, 2004
MOSCOW ‘‘We ride on the Metro and think it is for the last time,''
Father Aleksandr Borisov told Russian Orthodox worshipers Sunday
morning. ‘‘We gather in a church and think it is our last liturgy.''
..
This was not simply the homily of a Sunday sermon. After one of the
most horrific terrorist acts in recent times, with the slaughter of
hundreds of children in a schoolhouse on Friday, Borisov said he was
speaking quite literally.
..
‘‘We received a warning yesterday that terrorist acts are planned in
churches in the center of Moscow,'' he said. ‘‘World War III has
begun.''
..
In the days following a deadly hostage taking in the republic of North
Ossetia, near Chechnya, which took more than 300 lives, a sense of
dread, fatalism and futility has spread through the capital.
..
..
‘‘You Americans, you have your bin Laden, and now maybe so do we,''
said Vasily Nizovtsev, 34, who sells pirated video discs along with
cigarettes and telephone credit cards.
..
This is not America, though, where the terrorist attack of Sept. 11
came out of a clear blue sky. This was the latest and most horrible of
years of attacks linked to a decade-long separatist war in Chechnya.
..
Just in the past two weeks, about 100 people were killed in attacks in
Chechnya, 90 people died in the bombings of two passenger airliners
and a suicide bomber killed nine people in central Moscow.
..
After days of near-silence, President Vladimir Putin emerged somberly
on Saturday to tell his countrymen that Russia had become the pale
shadow of a once-great nation.
..
He promised strong new measures along the lines of America's homeland
security defenses, but few people interviewed here in the past two
days seemed to take much heart.
..
‘‘Putin said the country is weak and defenseless, and that's true,''
said Yuri Rublyov, 20, a student who was handing out fliers offering
free coffee at a downtown café. ‘‘Under Stalin something like this
never would have happened.''
..
But, like professional political commentators who have marveled at
Putin's political imperviousness, he added: ‘‘Remember, this is not
America. He doesn't have to say anything. In America you demand
answers. Here, it's not the same.''
..
The horror of the day left one leading newspaper speechless. The front
page of Saturday editions of Izvestia carried just one giant,
heartrending photograph of a man holding a wounded child, more
eloquent than the thousands of words that could have filled that
space.
..
With heart-rending scenes of dead or terrified children filling the
television screens after a near-blackout during the days of the
hostage-taking, Moscow has slipped into anguish.
..
A festive annual City Day weekend was canceled, and the government
announced two days of mourning culminating in plans for a huge rally
on Tuesday near Red Square.
..
The state-controlled television station NTV said it would cancel
entertainment programming and advertising on those days. It called for
a moment of silence Thursday morning ‘‘in the memory of the dead and
in the name of the living.''
..
The extraordinary brutality of the hostage-taking seemed almost to be
a natural disaster, in the lower depths of human nature in which
neither the perpetrators nor their motives were known.
..
The Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov hurried to distance
himself from the killings, saying, ‘‘There can be no justification for
terror against innocent citizens.''
..
He took the opportunity, though, to put the blame on Putin, who
inaugurated the second round of the war in 1999 and has pursued it
singlemindedly, and at great human cost.
..
Yevgeny Kagelizi, 24, a street cleaner who was picking up trash with a
metal spike, took a more dour view. ‘‘Obviously, somebody is trying to
start a war,'' he said. ‘‘It's a terrific business.''
..
The New York Times
..
Sophia Kishkovsky in Moscow contributed reporting for this article
See more of the world that matters - click here for home delivery of
the International Herald Tribune.
< < Back to Start of Article MOSCOW ‘‘We ride on the Metro and think
it is for the last time,'' Father Aleksandr Borisov told Russian
Orthodox worshipers Sunday morning. ‘‘We gather in a church and think
it is our last liturgy.''
..
This was not simply the homily of a Sunday sermon. After one of the
most horrific terrorist acts in recent times, with the slaughter of
hundreds of children in a schoolhouse on Friday, Borisov said he was
speaking quite literally.
..
‘‘We received a warning yesterday that terrorist acts are planned in
churches in the center of Moscow,'' he said. ‘‘World War III has
begun.''
..
In the days following a deadly hostage taking in the republic of North
Ossetia, near Chechnya, which took more than 300 lives, a sense of
dread, fatalism and futility has spread through the capital.
..
..
‘‘You Americans, you have your bin Laden, and now maybe so do we,''
said Vasily Nizovtsev, 34, who sells pirated video discs along with
cigarettes and telephone credit cards.
..
This is not America, though, where the terrorist attack of Sept. 11
came out of a clear blue sky. This was the latest and most horrible of
years of attacks linked to a decade-long separatist war in Chechnya.
..
Just in the past two weeks, about 100 people were killed in attacks in
Chechnya, 90 people died in the bombings of two passenger airliners
and a suicide bomber killed nine people in central Moscow.
..
After days of near-silence, President Vladimir Putin emerged somberly
on Saturday to tell his countrymen that Russia had become the pale
shadow of a once-great nation.
..
He promised strong new measures along the lines of America's homeland
security defenses, but few people interviewed here in the past two
days seemed to take much heart.
..
‘‘Putin said the country is weak and defenseless, and that's true,''
said Yuri Rublyov, 20, a student who was handing out fliers offering
free coffee at a downtown café. ‘‘Under Stalin something like this
never would have happened.''
..
But, like professional political commentators who have marveled at
Putin's political imperviousness, he added: ‘‘Remember, this is not
America. He doesn't have to say anything. In America you demand
answers. Here, it's not the same.''
..
The horror of the day left one leading newspaper speechless. The front
page of Saturday editions of Izvestia carried just one giant,
heartrending photograph of a man holding a wounded child, more
eloquent than the thousands of words that could have filled that
space.
..
With heart-rending scenes of dead or terrified children filling the
television screens after a near-blackout during the days of the
hostage-taking, Moscow has slipped into anguish.
..
A festive annual City Day weekend was canceled, and the government
announced two days of mourning culminating in plans for a huge rally
on Tuesday near Red Square.
..
The state-controlled television station NTV said it would cancel
entertainment programming and advertising on those days. It called for
a moment of silence Thursday morning ‘‘in the memory of the dead and
in the name of the living.''
..
The extraordinary brutality of the hostage-taking seemed almost to be
a natural disaster, in the lower depths of human nature in which
neither the perpetrators nor their motives were known.
..
The Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov hurried to distance
himself from the killings, saying, ‘‘There can be no justification for
terror against innocent citizens.''
..
He took the opportunity, though, to put the blame on Putin, who
inaugurated the second round of the war in 1999 and has pursued it
singlemindedly, and at great human cost.
..
Yevgeny Kagelizi, 24, a street cleaner who was picking up trash with a
metal spike, took a more dour view. ‘‘Obviously, somebody is trying to
start a war,'' he said. ‘‘It's a terrific business.''
..
The New York Times
..
Sophia Kishkovsky in Moscow contributed reporting for this article
MOSCOW ‘‘We ride on the Metro and think it is for the last time,''
Father Aleksandr Borisov told Russian Orthodox worshipers Sunday
morning. ‘‘We gather in a church and think it is our last liturgy.''
..
This was not simply the homily of a Sunday sermon. After one of the
most horrific terrorist acts in recent times, with the slaughter of
hundreds of children in a schoolhouse on Friday, Borisov said he was
speaking quite literally.
..
‘‘We received a warning yesterday that terrorist acts are planned in
churches in the center of Moscow,'' he said. ‘‘World War III has
begun.''
..
In the days following a deadly hostage taking in the republic of North
Ossetia, near Chechnya, which took more than 300 lives, a sense of
dread, fatalism and futility has spread through the capital.
..
..
‘‘You Americans, you have your bin Laden, and now maybe so do we,''
said Vasily Nizovtsev, 34, who sells pirated video discs along with
cigarettes and telephone credit cards.
..
This is not America, though, where the terrorist attack of Sept. 11
came out of a clear blue sky. This was the latest and most horrible of
years of attacks linked to a decade-long separatist war in Chechnya.
..
Just in the past two weeks, about 100 people were killed in attacks in
Chechnya, 90 people died in the bombings of two passenger airliners
and a suicide bomber killed nine people in central Moscow.
..
After days of near-silence, President Vladimir Putin emerged somberly
on Saturday to tell his countrymen that Russia had become the pale
shadow of a once-great nation.
..
He promised strong new measures along the lines of America's homeland
security defenses, but few people interviewed here in the past two
days seemed to take much heart.
..
‘‘Putin said the country is weak and defenseless, and that's true,''
said Yuri Rublyov, 20, a student who was handing out fliers offering
free coffee at a downtown café. ‘‘Under Stalin something like this
never would have happened.''
..
But, like professional political commentators who have marveled at
Putin's political imperviousness, he added: ‘‘Remember, this is not
America. He doesn't have to say anything. In America you demand
answers. Here, it's not the same.''
..
The horror of the day left one leading newspaper speechless. The front
page of Saturday editions of Izvestia carried just one giant,
heartrending photograph of a man holding a wounded child, more
eloquent than the thousands of words that could have filled that
space.
..
With heart-rending scenes of dead or terrified children filling the
television screens after a near-blackout during the days of the
hostage-taking, Moscow has slipped into anguish.
..
A festive annual City Day weekend was canceled, and the government
announced two days of mourning culminating in plans for a huge rally
on Tuesday near Red Square.
..
The state-controlled television station NTV said it would cancel
entertainment programming and advertising on those days. It called for
a moment of silence Thursday morning ‘‘in the memory of the dead and
in the name of the living.''
..
The extraordinary brutality of the hostage-taking seemed almost to be
a natural disaster, in the lower depths of human nature in which
neither the perpetrators nor their motives were known.
..
The Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov hurried to distance
himself from the killings, saying, ‘‘There can be no justification for
terror against innocent citizens.''
..
He took the opportunity, though, to put the blame on Putin, who
inaugurated the second round of the war in 1999 and has pursued it
singlemindedly, and at great human cost.
..
Yevgeny Kagelizi, 24, a street cleaner who was picking up trash with a
metal spike, took a more dour view. ‘‘Obviously, somebody is trying to
start a war,'' he said. ‘‘It's a terrific business.''
..
The New York Times
..
Sophia Kishkovsky in Moscow contributed reporting for this article
MOSCOW ‘‘We ride on the Metro and think it is for the last time,''
Father Aleksandr Borisov told Russian Orthodox worshipers Sunday
morning. ‘‘We gather in a church and think it is our last liturgy.''
..
This was not simply the homily of a Sunday sermon. After one of the
most horrific terrorist acts in recent times, with the slaughter of
hundreds of children in a schoolhouse on Friday, Borisov said he was
speaking quite literally.
..
‘‘We received a warning yesterday that terrorist acts are planned in
churches in the center of Moscow,'' he said. ‘‘World War III has
begun.''
..
In the days following a deadly hostage taking in the republic of North
Ossetia, near Chechnya, which took more than 300 lives, a sense of
dread, fatalism and futility has spread through the capital.
..
..
‘‘You Americans, you have your bin Laden, and now maybe so do we,''
said Vasily Nizovtsev, 34, who sells pirated video discs along with
cigarettes and telephone credit cards.
..
This is not America, though, where the terrorist attack of Sept. 11
came out of a clear blue sky. This was the latest and most horrible of
years of attacks linked to a decade-long separatist war in Chechnya.
..
Just in the past two weeks, about 100 people were killed in attacks in
Chechnya, 90 people died in the bombings of two passenger airliners
and a suicide bomber killed nine people in central Moscow.
..
After days of near-silence, President Vladimir Putin emerged somberly
on Saturday to tell his countrymen that Russia had become the pale
shadow of a once-great nation.
..
He promised strong new measures along the lines of America's homeland
security defenses, but few people interviewed here in the past two
days seemed to take much heart.
..
‘‘Putin said the country is weak and defenseless, and that's true,''
said Yuri Rublyov, 20, a student who was handing out fliers offering
free coffee at a downtown café. ‘‘Under Stalin something like this
never would have happened.''
..
But, like professional political commentators who have marveled at
Putin's political imperviousness, he added: ‘‘Remember, this is not
America. He doesn't have to say anything. In America you demand
answers. Here, it's not the same.''
..
The horror of the day left one leading newspaper speechless. The front
page of Saturday editions of Izvestia carried just one giant,
heartrending photograph of a man holding a wounded child, more
eloquent than the thousands of words that could have filled that
space.
..
With heart-rending scenes of dead or terrified children filling the
television screens after a near-blackout during the days of the
hostage-taking, Moscow has slipped into anguish.
..
A festive annual City Day weekend was canceled, and the government
announced two days of mourning culminating in plans for a huge rally
on Tuesday near Red Square.
..
The state-controlled television station NTV said it would cancel
entertainment programming and advertising on those days. It called for
a moment of silence Thursday morning ‘‘in the memory of the dead and
in the name of the living.''
..
The extraordinary brutality of the hostage-taking seemed almost to be
a natural disaster, in the lower depths of human nature in which
neither the perpetrators nor their motives were known.
..
The Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov hurried to distance
himself from the killings, saying, ‘‘There can be no justification for
terror against innocent citizens.''
..
He took the opportunity, though, to put the blame on Putin, who
inaugurated the second round of the war in 1999 and has pursued it
singlemindedly, and at great human cost.
..
Yevgeny Kagelizi, 24, a street cleaner who was picking up trash with a
metal spike, took a more dour view. ‘‘Obviously, somebody is trying to
start a war,'' he said. ‘‘It's a terrific business.''
..
The New York Times
..
Sophia Kishkovsky in Moscow contributed reporting for this article
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