In an essay appearing in the October 30 issue of the Bangkok Post, former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov wrote, inter alia: "A year ago President Vladimir Putin offered negotiations between his representative and an envoy of Aslan Maskhadov.... That initiative collapsed because the Chechens... MORE

Writing in the October 28 issue of The Guardian, Lord [Frank] Judd, rapporteur to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Chechnya and co-chairman of the joint working group of the Council of Europe and Russian State Duma on Chechnya, observed: "The conclusion... MORE

During the hostage crisis of October 23-26, and in its immediate aftermath, spokesmen for President Putin and for the Russian power ministries repeatedly emphasized that talks are no longer possible with Aslan Maskhadov or with his chief negotiator, Akhmed Zakaev. On October 30, the Russian... MORE

: * Storming the theater* Questions on the gas* Officials protest* What actually happened?* Doctors attest to cause of death* A chronology* Eyewitness account* Putin addresses nation* Whose decision?* Washington weighs in* Russians weigh in NEWS

Early on the morning of October 26, Russian special forces--employing some form of poisoned gas--stormed the Theater Center at Dubrovka in Moscow, killing a reported fifty Chechen Wahhabi terrorists, including their leader, field commander Movsar Baraev, and, according to the most recent reports by the... MORE

As it became clear that a large number of the hostages had perished in the attack, questions began to be raised both in Russia and the West about what was in the poisoned gas the special forces had used. "Almost all the hostages died from... MORE

Russian security officials, on the other hand, strongly defended their use of the yet unidentified "special gas." The gas, Deputy MVD Minister Vladimir Vasil'ev emphasized, "allowed us to neutralize the terrorists who were holding their fingers on the triggers of the bombs" (New York Times,... MORE

But was that the way it actually occurred? Writing in the October 26 issue of the website APN.ru, journalist Lev Segal observed: "Judging from everything, the 'martyrs' belts' filled with plastic explosives, were mainly worn by the women-terrorists, who were sitting in the hall. A... MORE

While Russian medical personnel attending the poisoned hostages had been ordered by Russian security and law enforcement officials not to talk to the press, at least one medical professional, Ol'ga Karpova, a senior doctor with the Department of Operational Response of the Moscow Rescue Service,... MORE