Russia will on Thursday mark the first anniversary of the hostage crisis in Moscow, when a group of Chechen fighters seized a musical theatre packed with more than 800 people. The hostage-takers demanded that Moscow stop military action in Chechnya, and threatened to blow up the building. During the rescue operation special forces killed all the hostage-takers, but more than 120 theatregoers also died, poisoned by a powerful gas that was pumped into the auditorium to knock out the rebels. One year on there is very little to remind the public of the terrible tragedy at the theatre. It has been renovated with upholstery changed from the original red to blue, and the musical is no longer running. Outside, a memorial is to be unveiled on Thursday, but initial plans to have all the victims’ names engraved on it have been dropped. A terse caption says it commemorates all victims of terror. Full Story
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