Russian Bombings: Will It Affect the Olympics?
With the two bombings that occurred in December at Volgograd, Russia; the questions comes up if the Olympics in February are going to be safe.
Two suicide bombings in Russia, one occurring on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2013, and another occurring early Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, have killed thirty-one people. According to Fox News, a Muslim terrorist has devoted using Russia’s Olympic publicity to put the Chechnya’s grievances in the spotlight.
The Chechens have had tensions with Russia for nearly two centuries, according to BBC News. It has been an up and down cycle of being free from Russia and not being free from Russia. The country is rich with oil, so it is a very desirable area for the country of Russia. After WWII had ended, the leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin wanted vengeance for them being even more independent from Moscow, so Stalin punished the Chechens for collaborating. Their punishment was a mass movement to Siberia and Central Asia. Then, in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, a president for Chechnya was elected-Dzhokhar Dudayev. He declared independence for Chechnya. Russia was furious. They sent forces and a 20-month war erupted, killing 100,000 people. After multiple bombings, killings and having had different leaders for Russia, in March 2009, Russia says that everything is finally normalized between Russia and Chechnya. Even though that was said by Russia, bombings have still occurred since.
The bombings from over the weekend had happened in the city of Volgograd, Russia, all within 24 hours of each other. According to Fox News, terror experts do believe that the suicide bombings were inspired by Doku Umarov-a Chechen Muslim rebel leader. He has called Muslims to prevent the Olympics from happening, and to attack civilians.
Sixteen people were killed in the first bombing that happened at a train station, according to CNN. Along with the sixteen who were killed, thirty-four people were injured from the bombing. The bomb was detonated by a woman before she entered a train station. The second bombing was detonated by a suicide bomber on a bus. That bombing killed fourteen people and injured forty, according to Fox News.
With the Olympics coming in February, Russian forces will do everything to make the Olympic area secured. According to CNN, the Olympics have multiple dangers for both the Olympians and visitors. The first danger is the terrorists. Fox News reports that the terrorists influenced by Umarov could already be inside the secured zone, according to Jim Phillips, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
As CNN states, the second danger is the Russian forces. In an attack, they are not afraid to take innocent lives either. An example being when terrorists seized a Moscow theater and took nearly a thousand persons hostage. When this happened, the Russian forces surged the hall with poison gas killing 129 hostages immediately in 2002.
