Returning to Chechnya

Police identified two people as the ringleaders of the bombing campaign: a Chechen named Achemez Gochiyayev and an Uzbek, Denis Saitakov. Officials stated that Gochiyayev rented storage space in both Moscow apartment buildings where the bombs were detonated. But neither of them was taken into custody. Secret services arrested two other suspects, both Chechens; as stated, traces of explosives were found on them or in their homes. One of the suspects said on Russian television: "They found nothing, absolutely nothing. This is a complete fabrication." Moreover, no one has taken responsibility for most of the bombs, although a previously unknown group calling itself the Dagestan Liberation Army claimed it directed one of the explosions in Moscow. Chechen leaders insist they have no connection to any of the bombs.

The Political Fallout

For Boris Yeltsin—ailing, aging, and now in the final year of his presidency—the bombings are a disaster. The Russian economy is in disarray, and allegations of massive corruption relentlessly follow him and his government. Now, for besieged Russian citizens (especially for the 10 million Muscovites), the most fundamental sense of security—being able to go to sleep at night with a reasonable guarantee of waking up the next morning—is lost. "We know the name of the enemy," Yeltsin said, "and it is terrorism."

To Russians, the president is so weak—and the political environment so corrupt and depraved—that the bombs have triggered a mechanism of wild speculation. Some rumors say the bombs were planted for the sake of politicians who want to succeed Yeltsin. Others say the attacks were intended to provoke a state of emergency that would allow Yeltsin to step down in favor of Vladimir Putin, his prime minister—and designated successor—at the appropriate moment. Other rumors say Yeltsin will fire Putin, replace him with Alexander Lebed, the former general who negotiated the Chechen truce, and then cancel the scheduled parliamentary and presidential elections.

There was not an iota of evidence in favor of any of the conspiracy theories. Which leaves Moscow face to face with a more likely, and equally harsher, reality: the conflict with Islamic rebels has now spawned a campaign of terror unprecedented in modern Russia. By all accounts, the rebels in Dagestan, a multi-ethnic region on the Caspian Sea, are led by two key figures. Both are ardent Islamic fundamentalists and were key commanders in the Chechen uprising that began in 1994 (and both deny any connection to the current bombing campaign).

• [about Basayev and Khattab, US intelligence speaks of funding for Chechnya and the rebellion in Dagestan by the Arab world and volunteers from Egypt, Pakistan, and Afghanistan]

But a certain official says that US intelligence is "unaware" regarding the connection between Muslim extremists and the Russian bombs—and even less convinced of the existence of any connection to bin Laden.

• [US aid to Moscow, Muscovites' hatred for "black [slur/faces]", apparent preparation for a new military operation against Chechnya, Slavic-looking victims of kidnappings found in Chechnya and Dagestan]

For Yeltsin, the slide toward the bombs could become the most unpleasant chapter.

Diagram: A Complex Campaign of Terror

In the first three weeks of September, four terrorist bombs shattered apartment buildings across Russia. Islamic extremists from the Caucasus region are blamed, but no one has taken responsibility, and not a single bomber has been caught.

1. September 4. Killed: 64. Details: In Dagestan, an Islamic region of Russia, a truck exploded outside a building occupied by the families of military personnel. Investigators found that the bomb contained a complex explosive compound called RDX.
2. September 8. Killed: 94. Details: Dark-skinned men rented storage space in a Moscow apartment building and filled it with bags labeled "sugar." They contained RDX, which exploded several days later.
3. September 13. Killed: 119. Details: In another district of Moscow, the same pattern: storage space hired by dark-skinned men and filled with bags of sugar—again containing RDX.
4. September 16. Killed: at least 19. Details: The danger intensifies as the apartment building had been searched. But in Volgodonsk, a truck bomb exploded outside a building full of sleeping residents.

Photo: Russian artillery in Dagestan, Basayev, Khattab.