The 1996 Kaspiysk bombing occurred on 16 November 1996 when Chechen terrorists bombed an apartment building in

Kaspiysk Kaspiysk (; Lezgin: Каспи ; ) is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. The 2010 Russian census recorded the city as being the fourth-largest in Dagestan. It is a working-class satellite city to ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

, killing 68 people.

Background

The apartment had been built in 1991, and at the time of the bombing around 200 people lived in the housing. It had been one of the buildings of the Volna boarding house until 1992-1993 when the Caspian border detachment was created and the housing was transferred to city authorities.

Bombing

The explosion occurred at around 2 a.m. UTC+03:00 at house No. 58 on Lenin Street in the basement. The bombing destroyed the entire nine-story

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

. Local emergency services arrived at 2:30 a.m. to rescue people until the arrival of a task force and rescuers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, additional specialists also arrived on 19 November along with professional rescuers from the Central Airmobile Rescue Squad and the Special Purpose Center in Moscow. In total, 68 people died, including 21 children. The target of the explosion is suspected to be against Russian Border Guard officers who were living inside with their families.

Investigation

FSB Director Nikolay Kovalyov stated soon after that a suspect was detained and the identities of two accomplices were known, which was confirmed by the Transcaucasian Border District.

Ivan Rybkin Ivan Petrovich Rybkin (; born 20 October 1946) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of Russia's State Duma in 1994–96 and Secretary of the Security Council in 1996–1998. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active ...

stated that the people responsible for the attack were opponents of the Chechen peace process, a claim reiterated by the Chechen coalition government. It was also estimated that the explosive device had the power of 30-150 kg of TNT. The names of the suspects were never released, and in November 2003 the FSB announced the case was suspended

Response

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

declared a

national day of mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...

in response to the attack. Two days after the attack

Viktor Chernomyrdin Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (, ; 9 April 19383 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union (13 February 1985 – 17 July 1989), after which he became first chairm ...

visited Kaspiysk.

References

1996 murders in Russia 20th-century mass murder in Russia 20th century in Dagestan

Islamic terrorism in Russia Islamic terrorist incidents in 1996 Mass murder in 1996 November 1996 crimes November 1996 in Russia Terrorist incidents in Russia in 1996 Residential building bombings in Russia {{Russia-hist-stub

Background

Bombing

Investigation

Response

See also

References