Explosion in St. Petersburg

On February 4, 2007, in St. Petersburg, near the closed vestibule of the metro station "Vladimirskaya", an explosion occurred in a flower stall. The power of the explosion was 50 g of TNT.

Representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations adhere to the everyday version of what happened and believe that the heater exploded. Police experts suggested that a shellless improvised explosive device exploded, presumably consisting of a pyrotechnic mixture, equipped with a mechanical timer, and presumably stuffed with nuts. The IED could have been placed under the base of the pavilion, which rests on several bricks about 10 centimeters above the ground.

As a result of the explosion, three people were injured - 50-year-old stall saleswoman Alevtina Kustova, who was hospitalized at the Mariinsky Hospital with a suspected concussion, a closed head injury and a knee injury, and two homeless people who were at the pavilion at the time of the explosion and were thrown back by the blast. They refused hospitalization. In the stall itself, the floor was pierced and two windows were broken.

On the fact of the explosion, a criminal case was initiated under Art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("deliberate destruction or damage to property").

Recall that on the same day, on the same metro line, there were two attacks on a citizen of Cameroon and a citizen of Moldova . The police and the prosecutor's office of the subway understand the circumstances of all three incidents. Their connection with each other cannot be ruled out.

It should be noted that on February 4, 2007, the anti-fascist action "Food instead of bombs" was traditionally held on the square near "Vladimirskaya". According to Internet blogs, the explosion occurred when food is usually distributed. Eyewitnesses claim that shortly before the incident they saw a group of young people in dark clothes, armed with bats, who were moving towards "Vladimirskaya".

On the same day, a conference of national-patriotic forces was held in the Pervomaisky Palace of Culture, not far from the Vyborgskaya metro station.

It should be noted that on the eve of the incidents, on February 2, 2007, two anti-fascists at about the same time received a phone call from unknown persons with death threats. In each case, the names, home addresses and telephone numbers of the subscribers were known. The day before, their coordinates appeared on a Nazi forum.

One of the anti-fascists received a call from an unknown person who introduced himself as "Yaroslav" or "Dobroslav" and said that he was a "nationalist". Further, the caller said that "skinheads with knives" should soon come to the subscriber. An unknown person who introduced himself as Timur Kacharava told another that they would "meet soon" .

Sources

• Nikitina I. Have the extremists gone underground? // Fontanka.ru. 2007. February 5.
• Viktorov P., Petrov G. Nazi terror on the list: who is next? // Fontanka.ru. 2007. February 6.
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