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Moscow attack: How Putin could use the concert hall massacre to his advantage [1]

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Date: 2024-03-25 21:33:57+00:00

While few have been as deadly as last week’s massacre at the Crocus City Hall music venue on the outskirts of Moscow, in which at least 139 people were killed by terrorists, almost all have been used by Putin to strengthen his grip on power.

Following the Friday massacre, even though a branch of the Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility, Putin seized the opportunity to blame Ukraine (despite presenting no evidence). Kyiv — which Putin has been attempting to conquer since launching a full-scale invasion in February 2022 — is merely the Kremlin’s latest convenient scapegoat.

Here are some previous occasions on which Putin used a brutal attack on Russia to consolidate or boost his authority — along with some thoughts on what might come next:

1999 Russian apartment bombings

When: Sept. 4-16, 1999

What happened? A series of domestic explosions occurred in multiple cities across Russia in September 1999, while Putin was still prime minister. The total death toll reached 307.

While Moscow officially pinned the blame on Chechen separatists, some speculated they were a “false flag” operation orchestrated by Russian security officials.

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[1] Url: https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-moscow-attack-use-the-crocus-massacre-to-his-advantage/

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