As Russian authorities combed through the wreckage of Saturday’s bombing they tried to determine who caused the carnage. While bombings or shootings are not new to North Caucasus, the bombing is one of the most deadly terrorist attacks to occur on Russian soil in years. The last major deadly transit attack in Russia occurred in 2003 that killed forty-four on a commuter train.
The homemade bomb planted on Russia’s luxury train running between St. Petersburg and Moscow has claimed the lives of twenty-six people. Russian authorities suspect Muslim radicals. However, no group or individual has been named as the culprit. Another train that was derailed in 2007 caused two dozen people to be wounded.
“All search and investigative measures must be conducted intensely and most thoroughly,” President Dmitry Medvedev told senior officials in a nationally televised emergency conference. “You need to act quickly so as to find as much evidence relating to the case as possible. . . . The results of the investigation must be reported to me personally.” Among those who were killed are a former senator and a senior official in economics.
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