Skripal's alleged, would-be assassins grant an interview, Pussy Riot's Pyotr Verzilov was poisoned, and Poklonskaya pays for her insolence Thursday, September 13, 2018 This day in history. At 5 a.m. on September 13, 1999, a bomb exploded in an eight-story apartment building in Moscow, killing 124 people. The incident was part of a series of four terrorist attacks that claimed 293 lives, led to the Second Chechen War, and boosted Vladimir Putin's popularity before he became president.