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Are the Winter Olympics Safe?. The Facts. 2 attacks in 2 days – December 30 2013 Volgograd Main Railway Station - 18 people killed Trolley during rush hour -16 people killed T errorism. Who is behind the attack?.
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The Facts • 2 attacks in 2 days – December 30 2013 • Volgograd • Main Railway Station - 18 people killed • Trolley during rush hour -16 people killed • Terrorism
Who is behind the attack? - no group has yet stepped forward- the explosions could be the work of any - number of autonomous groups fighting in the North Caucasus region.
How did Russian authorities react? • Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that the Sochi(so-chee) (city) games will be safe and security will be tight. • security checks • vehicle license plates are monitored.
Obama & White House • Condemns terror attacks • Offers to work closely with Russia to ensure safety during games • Opportunity for closer ties with Russia
Why was Volgograd targeted? • One reason could be because Volgograd is a major rail hub. • travel through Volgograd to get to Sochi. • It's also the rail station you travel through to get to and from the North Caucasus. • It's a region that comprises the Russian republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and North Ossetia.
What is the source of the conflict? • dates back many years • heavy toll on both sides • Chechens claim land in the Caucasus Mountains region for more than 5,000 years • The standard of living in the republics is poor compared with the rest of Russia. • Unemployment is rampant and infant mortality is high • Chechen population - 1 million - Sunni Muslims -distinctly different cultural and linguistic identity from Russian Orthodox Christians. • In 1991, Chechnya formally announced its fight for independence, saying it never joined Russia voluntarily.
Past Attacks • Chechen fighters held 700 movie-goers hostage in a Moscow theater in 2002. A Russian effort to free them resulted in the deaths of 120 hostages. • Chechen rebels were also accused of downing two Russian airplanes in 2004. And they took over a school in Beslan in the North Ossetia region in 2004. When the siege ended, more than 330 people had died, half of them children. • Just as Putin proclaimed that his policies were succeeding in Chechnya, the pro-Moscow president of the region and 20 others were killed by a bomb that went off under a stadium grandstand in 2004. • But by 2009, Russia had quashed the rebel movement to the point that it officially declared the war over.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/29/asia/gallery/russia-train-station-bomb/index.html?iid=article_sidebarhttp://www.cnn.com/2013/12/29/asia/gallery/russia-train-station-bomb/index.html?iid=article_sidebar • pictures • http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/30/world/europe/russia-terrorist-attacks-explainer/index.html?iid=article_sidebar • Video • 3 additional videos on the side