In Beslan, 20 years later

10 questions about the Beslan tragedy, to which Putin did not answer in all these years

On August 20, Putin, returning from his trip to Azerbaijan, flew to the North Caucasus and visited three regions: Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia and the Chechen Republic. In each of these regions, he spent about four hours and flew to Moscow at night. Moreover, if in Chechnya they knew about his visit in advance and carefully prepared for him, blocking almost the entire republic, then the residents of Beslan were informed about Putin's plans only the day before. The reason is understandable: the inhabitants of Beslan are much more difficult to control than the inhabitants of Chechnya.

For the first time during his visit to Beslan, Putin examined school No. 1; More precisely, what has remained of her over the years. All traces of the use of weapons of indistinguishable defeat by special forces of the FSB, which stormed the school, have long been destroyed. Only the main building and the gym remained from the school, which was covered with a metal dome. In the center of this building is a cross, photos of hostages and - separately - who died in the assault on the EMERCOM and special forces of Vympel and Alfa are hanging on the charred walls.

It was to the photographs of the special forces that Putin first approached the gym.

The meeting with the mothers of Beslan - Susanna Dudieva, Anetta Gadieva and Rita Sidakova - took place in the office of the director of the Beslan memorial corps.

This office is located in a completely new administrative building built on the site of the southern wing of the school. Photographer Dmitry Belyakov, who was in Beslan during the hostage capture, took many pictures of this wing during the assault on the school. These personnel have become one of the evidence of the application during the assault of Bumblebee flamethrower and other grenade launchers, which were in service with the special forces of the FSB CSB.

Already in the evening of September 3, this southern wing was shot from tanks. And at night, the ruins of the building were loaded into dump trucks and taken to a landfill.

Why was it so important to destroy this southern wing? The fact is that it was in it (and not in the gym, as the official version insisted) during the assault with the use of indignant weapons, most of the hostages died.

These smoking ruins were the main thing of a terrible crime.

Now in their place there is a museum.

Dudiev, Gadiev and Sidakov have already met with Putin. The meeting was held on September 2, 2005 at Vnukovo Airport. Women flew to Moscow for several hours and immediately flew back, because in Beslan there were mourning events dedicated to the first anniversary of the attack.

During this meeting (her transcript was never published on the website of the President of Russia, but it was restored and publicized by the participants in the meeting themselves) residents of Beslan asked Vladimir Putin the most important questions about the tragedy in Beslan.

These questions:

• Why did the federal center and authorized security forces refused to negotiate with terrorists?

• Why all three days - from the moment of capture to the assault on the school - the authorities and power structures underestimated the number of hostages?

• Why did none of the officials be punished for the capture of the school and the death of hostages?

• What specifically provoked the assault? Who gave the order to shoot a school with hostages and from which weapons?

• Who allowed the use of tanks during the assault?

• Who allowed the use of grenade launchers during the assault?

• Who actually led the operational headquarters and assault on the school?

• Why are the federal security forces - Patrushev and Nurgaliev, at that time the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia - flew to Beslan on September 1 and immediately flew back? Why did they send their deputies to Beslan, why did these deputies not enter the official staff of the operational headquarters, although in fact they made all decisions?

• Why didn’t a fire that began immediately after the first explosions for several hours in the gym?

• Who gave the order to employees of the Ministry of Emergencies immediately after the assault, on the night of September 3 to 4, 2004, to destroy and take out for a landfill material evidence of the death of hostages from weapons of an indiscriminate defeat?

19 years ago, Vladimir Putin could not answer any of these questions, although the investigation at that time lasted a year now. Then Beslan’s mothers demanded that he guarantees an objective investigation of the circumstances of the attack and the death of hostages. Putin gave such a promise.

On August 20, 2024, to the question of Beslan’s mothers about when, finally, the investigation of the Beslan attack will end, Putin said that “it is not aware of why the investigation has not yet been completed and why it was so tightened.”