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Secret awards given to FSB top brass in the wake of the Nord-Ost
crisis cause consternation, while former hostages pursue additional compensation.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia--A group of former Nord-Ost theater hostages
are
continuing to seek multimillion-dollar compensation from Moscow,
just as
commendations awarded to federal and local officials for their
participation in the tragic events have come to light. The medals--which
were given in secret--have outraged some special forces soldiers
who were
involved in the military operation to release the hostages, as
well as many
public officials.
General Vladimir Pronichev, deputy head of the Federal Security
Services
(FSB), and General Alexander Tikhonov, head of the FSB special
operations
center, received Hero of Russia stars in January, according to
an open
letter written by soldiers from the special FSB unit Alfa, according
to an
article in the 3 March issue of Novaya Gazeta.
"Both Pronichev and Tikhonov are responsible for the fight
against
terrorism on Russian territory. Instead of being punished for
allowing
terrorists to get into downtown Moscow, they have in fact received
Hero of
Russia stars, taking them away from more honored men, who risked
their
lives for real," the letter said.
According to the open letter, Russian President Vladimir Putin
signed a
secret decree shortly after New Year's Eve to award five people
with Hero
of Russia stars, including three FSB officials and two soldiers
from the
special units Alfa and Vympel.
"The fifth 'Hero' is the chemist who gassed the theater
center. This is the
person who became a savior and a killer for many hostages,"
the letter
continued.
The hostage crisis--which took place in October 2002, when approximately
800 people were taken hostage by Chechen terrorists in a Moscow
theater--ended in a predawn special forces siege in which 129
civilians
died.
"Nobody who participated in this event can be commended,
except perhaps
those troops from Alfa and Vympel who were directly engaged in
work to
release [the hostages]--or maybe the doctors," Yuri Schekhochikhin,
a State
Duma deputy from the liberal Yabloko party and a member of the
Novaya
Gazeta editorial board, said in an interview with the MiK.ru information
agency on 4 March.
"And as usually happens [in Russia], there's a crowd of
authorities
clustering around a single hero waiting to adhere themselves to
someone
else's fame through pain, blood, and corpses. They just want to
add another
piece of metal to their suits," he charged.
FSB officials have yet to comment on the letter.
In the same issue of Novaya Gazeta, Schekhochikhin said that
the total
number of Heroes of Russia is considered a state secret. However,
90
percent of the medals are given posthumously, according to the
Association
of Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia.
So far this year, 35 lawmakers of the Moscow City Duma have received
honorary crosses for assisting the hostages by bringing water
and food to
the theater. Those medals were awarded in February.
STAKING CLAIMS
Meanwhile, 61 former hostages are continuing to pursue their
claims against
the Moscow government for compensation totaling approximately
$59.7
million. The Tverskoi District Court of Moscow has so far dismissed
three
lawsuits. Moscow City Hall has said it will not pay any compensation.
"The damage to the [hostages'] possessions has already been
paid and, in
fact, the payments were much higher than the actual value [of
the
possessions]," an anonymous source in the Moscow city government
was quoted
as saying by the NEWS.ru website on 27 February.
The source said that none of the hostages had approached the
government
with a request to increase the payment or offered any proof that
that
should be done.
Igor Trunov, an attorney for the hostages, said the financial
assistance
was paid according to Act. No. 18 of the federal law to fight
terrorism.
"[This article] has nothing to do with Act. No. 17 of the
same law, which
addresses the rights of victims of an act of terror who lose their
children
or their ability to work, suffer health damages, or need payments
for
medical treatment," Trunov said in a 17 February RIA Novosti
article.
Moscow City Hall has agreed to pay an additional 25,000 rubles
(approximately $780) to 32 children injured in the hostage crisis,
Lyudmila
Shvetsova, the first deputy mayor of Moscow, told Radio Ekho Moskvy
on 4
March.
The State Duma on 5 March failed to approve an inquiry into the
compensation question. The bill had been sent by Sergei Yushenkov,
a deputy
of the Liberal Russia faction, to Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
The Liberal Russia party is allegedly financed by Boris Berezovsky,
a
Russian oligarch now in exile.
Yushenkov's inquiry also questioned the Kremlin's role in the
situation.
"How were the terrorists able to provide for such an operation
in downtown
Moscow? Whose fault was it that this happened? Was the operation
to release
hostages carried out in an effective way? If yes, why are there
so many
dead and injured people?" the inquiry read.
See also:
the original at
www.tol.cz
Act of Terror in Moscow
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