Don't Be Afraid to Become "Snitches"

Trud-7, 16.9.99

The tragic results of recent times force us to seek answers to questions that until very recently seemed misplaced. Why have such bloody terrorist attacks become possible in Russia? Who failed to keep watch? What should be done now? Sergey Goncharov, President of the Association of Veterans of the "Alpha" anti-terrorist units and former deputy commander of the legendary "Alpha," is certain that in former times, terrorists' chances of success were minimal.

• Q: Can we speak now about the existence of a system for fighting terrorism in Russia?
  • A: We can speak of it, but this system is still very fragmented, and the conditions of its work are far from ideal.
• Q: What do you mean?
  • A: For example, the collapse of the administrative-legal regime in the country and the weakening of visa and border controls have created serious complications in the work of the special services. After all, the primary bread of counterintelligence is timely information, the possibility of at least minimal reasonable observation of migration flows, and tracking. The KGB was very strong in its agent apparatus. Now, I doubt that we have any agents at all in Chechnya, for instance.
• Q: If we speak specifically about Chechen terrorism, what measures should be considered today?
  • A: To start with, we must decide what Chechnya is—a subject of the Federation or a foreign state that has unleashed aggression. Everything will depend on that.
• Q: Special units whose main task is the fight against terrorism have existed in Russia for years. How would you characterize the level of training, for example, of modern "Alpha" personnel?
  • A: I think that this level has not dropped. And the guys have gained colossal experience. They are well-armed, and their physical training is appropriate.
• Q: Many today are increasingly asking: if we have such good anti-terrorist special units, why don't they, as is customary throughout the world, eliminate the terrorist leaders? After all, Basaev and Khattab appear on screens daily...
  • A: Such decisions cannot be made by ordinary officers. The state leaders must first decide on this. And no such strong-willed decisions have been forthcoming.
• Q: What advice could you give people regarding the prevention of terrorism?
  • A: The most elementary. The main thing they must understand for themselves is that no matter what measures the special services or city leaders take, the preservation of personal life largely depends on the citizens themselves. In such difficult times, they need to organize themselves, look around more carefully, and contact police officers more often. Throughout the world, contact with law enforcement agencies is considered a civic duty. But here, it is always called "snitching."

Aleksandr DANILKIN

Terrorism: Cossacks and Robbers

Kommersant-Vlast, No. 35, 7.9.99

The explosion at the "Okhotny Ryad" shopping complex on Manezhnaya Square, as monstrous as it may sound, was not unexpected. No, of course, no one (except, perhaps, the organizers of the terrorist attack themselves) expected it to blow up specifically at Manezhnaya and specifically on the eve of September 1. But the people were internally prepared for something to explode somewhere.

IGOR FEDOROV

The symptoms of the coming explosion were all too obvious.

1. Election Campaign: The election campaign began, and it has already become a tradition for us—elections are necessarily accompanied by high-profile terrorist attacks. The current composition of the State Duma was elected, one might say, under explosions. And when they started electing the president, things started booming in full: buses, trolleybuses, the metro.
2. Caucasus War: Another war began in the Caucasus, involving recognized terrorists Shamil Basaev and Khattab. When these figures take the warpath, expect sabotage and terrorist attacks. For the full picture, only Salman Raduyev is missing. However, it's nauseating enough without him.
3. FSB Warning: Back in early August, literally in the first days of the fighting in Dagestan, the FSB warned: according to information it had, militants intended to "sow horror and terror" in major Russian cities in the near future.

So all that remained was to wait for when and where the inevitable explosion would occur. And following the explosion, the first versions were immediately born: the Chechen and the Chekist.

These two versions have invariably accompanied all terrorist attacks in Russia since 1994.

• "Chekist trace" supporters claim the explosion was organized by the FSB with the goal of introducing a state of emergency in the country and canceling the elections, in which the authorities are doomed to defeat.
• Those who follow the "Chechen trace" are convinced the terrorist attack is the work of Chechen (Dagestani) militants. Being unable to withstand the Russian army in open combat, terrorists carry out explosions with the aim of confusing and morally breaking the population of Russia.

Self-proclaimed "revolutionary writers" who get underfoot are irritably brushed aside. The point is not at all how close one or the other is to the truth. The point is different: people are inclined to believe both. And this means that in the public consciousness, the opposing Russian special services and Chechen militants are perceived almost identically—as a threat.

The reason for such a perception is probably that both have become alien, all-powerful, and mysterious to the population. Both are, to put it mildly, not entirely sincere in their communication with the people.

• Militant leaders object to accusations of terrorist attacks by saying: "Why would we organize terrorist attacks against peaceful residents of Russian cities who oppose the war and thus are objectively our allies?"
• However, in Budyonnovsk, Basaev seized not barracks or a city administration building, but a maternity hospital.
• The special services declare: "Our task is to protect the safety and lives of citizens." But, preparing for the storming of Pervomayskoye, the first thing they did was announce that the militants had shot the hostages. But the hostages were still alive.

Yes, of course, war has its own rules. And what is considered a lie in normal life is called enemy disinformation in war conditions. It's just that in the conditions of an information war, it is most often the public consciousness that becomes deceived.

The Cossacks and robbers fighting each other have merged in the mind of the frightened and confused man in the street into a single image of a "Cossack-robber." Elusive, ubiquitous, and merciless terrorists walk through the country, leaving behind bloody Chekist-Chechen... [text cut off]