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Vladimir Putin vows to obliterate ‘inhuman’ terrorists responsible for bombings ahead of Russian Olympics

Gary Peach, Associated Press | December 31, 2013 9:04 AM ET
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Russian soldiers patrol the Battle of Stalingrad memorial in Volgograd, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Russian authorities ordered police to beef up security at train stations and other facilities across the country after a suicide bomber killed 14 people on a bus Monday in the southern city of Volgograd. It was the second deadly attack in two days on the city that lies just 400 miles (650 kilometers) from the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
AP Photo/Denis TyrinRussian soldiers patrol the Battle of Stalingrad memorial in Volgograd, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Russian authorities ordered police to beef up security at train stations and other facilities across the country after a suicide bomber killed 14 people on a bus Monday in the southern city of Volgograd. It was the second deadly attack in two days on the city that lies just 400 miles (650 kilometers) from the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

HL:Thousands of police, troops tighten security in Russian city hit by 2 suicide bombings

Eerily empty buses lumbered through the streets, police weighed down with body armour warily watched pedestrians near a fast-food restaurant, and members of Cossack units stood guard at bus stops. Volgograd was an ominous and jittery city on Tuesday, after two suicide bombings in two days that killed 34 people.

We get a feeling that a war has started

“People are afraid it will happen again; they’re trying not to go outside if they don’t have to,” said 20-year-old Yulia Kuzmina, a student. “We get a feeling that a war has started.”

That is a worry that extends far beyond Volgograd.

Although there has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing of the city’s main railway station and a trolleybus, suspicion falls strongly on Islamist insurgents, whose leader ordered his adherents this summer to do all they could to derail the Winter Olympics, which start Feb. 7 in the Russian resort city of Sochi.

Games organizers have introduced some of the most extensive identity checks and security measures ever seen at an international sporting event. But even if security at the Games is tight, many analysts suggest that the Volgograd bombings show how public transit in Sochi and sites away from the sports venues are vulnerable.

Police reinforcements and Interior Ministry troops have been sent into Volgograd, regional police official Andrei Pilipchuk was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency. He said more than 5,200 security forces are deployed in the city of 1 million, but did not say how much of an increase that was from normal levels.

Officers and security guards carefully searched the purses of young women entering a shopping centre and waved metal detectors over both males and females.

The Cossacks guarding some bus stops added an unsettling note. Although these units are officially authorized volunteer patrols, they are descendants of the fierce horsemen who protected the czars and launched raids on Muslims in the Russian Caucasus, where the Islamist insurgency is now centred.

Volgograd authorities have cancelled mass events for New Year’s Eve, one of Russia’s most popular holidays, and asked residents not to set off fireworks. In addition, all movie theatres have been closed until Thursday. In Moscow, festivities were to go ahead, but authorities said security would be increased.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia. Displaying the killer instincts of a chess grandmaster, Vladimir Putin rang out 2013 with an exceptional list of accomplishments.

Vladimir Putin, in his New Year’s Eve address to the nation, vowed that the fight against terrorists will continue “until their destruction is complete,” Russian news agencies reported. The Russian president said he would pursue the fight against terrorism in a “tough and consistent” manner.

Putin, who was on an unannounced visit to Khabarovsk, said the “inhuman terrorist acts” in Volgograd and flooding in the Far East were among the most “serious challenges” faced by Russia in 2013, according to state news service RIA Novosti.

“What blasphemy. They did it right before the holiday,” said Arkady Chernyavsky, a 73-year-old retiree. He also bristled at how the attacks stained the image of a city that prides itself for the tragic valour of the World War II Battle of Stalingrad, as the city then was called.

“This is supposed to be the city of heroes and things like this are taking place,” Chernyavsky said.


Suicide bombings have rocked Russia for years, but the insurgents seeking to create an Islamic state have largely confined their attacks to the North Caucasus region in recent years. The blasts in Volgograd signalled that militants want to show their reach outside their native region. Volgograd is about 300 kilometres (200 miles) north of the Caucasus and about 690 kilometres (430 miles) northeast of Sochi.

China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, on Tuesday expressed confidence in the security of the Sochi Games.

“The competent authorities on our side have maintained close communication and co-operation with Russia in terms of the security work for the Winter Olympics. We believe that Russia is capable of ensuring security and hosting a successful Winter Olympics,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Tuesday.

The United States would welcome “closer co-operation” with Russia on security preparations for the Winter Olympics, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Monday.

Nonc Hilaire wrote:Interesting contrast between the Putin's reaction to terrorism and Bush's after 9/11.

Doc wrote:

Nonc Hilaire wrote:Interesting contrast between the Putin's reaction to terrorism and Bush's after 9/11.

Looks pretty similar to me. Though results may vary

x7OCgMPX2mE

Nonc Hilaire wrote:

Doc wrote:

Nonc Hilaire wrote:Interesting contrast between the Putin's reaction to terrorism and Bush's after 9/11.

Looks pretty similar to me. Though results may vary

x7OCgMPX2mE

Putin declared a national period of grieving and memoriam, cancelling New Year's festivities.

Bush urged Americans to go with their daily lives as if nothing happened.

Volgograd authorities have cancelled mass events for New Year’s Eve, one of Russia’s most popular holidays, and asked residents not to set off fireworks. In addition, all movie theatres have been closed until Thursday. In Moscow, festivities were to go ahead, but authorities said security would be increased.

Nonc Hilaire wrote:Interesting contrast between the Putin's reaction to terrorism and Bush's after 9/11.

monster_gardener wrote:I'm not hearing any PC BS nonsense from Vlad the Imprisoner Putin about Islam being a "Religion of Peace" after Russians are blown to Pieces by Jihadis like we got from Bush W the Bush after Sept 11, 2001......

KUDOS to Bad Mad Vlad for that at least.....

Putin on Chechen extremists, on September 24, 1999: "We'll follow terrorists everywhere. We will corner the bandits in the toilet and wipe them out." ("мочить в сортире" in Russian)

Alexis wrote:

monster_gardener wrote:I'm not hearing any PC BS nonsense from Vlad the Imprisoner Putin about Islam being a "Religion of Peace" after Russians are blown to Pieces by Jihadis like we got from Bush W the Bush after Sept 11, 2001......

KUDOS to Bad Mad Vlad for that at least.....

Approximately 10% of Russians are Muslims by background. (Though most of them to be sure would look like Kaffirs in the eyes of Wahhabis and Jihadis)

I don't think Vlad the definitely not Mad is stupid enough to offend 10% of his countrymen by linking their religious practices to terrorism.
He is merely promising to eradicate terrorists, like he always did after spectacular attacks:

Putin on Chechen extremists, on September 24, 1999: "We'll follow terrorists everywhere. We will corner the bandits in the toilet and wipe them out." ("мочить в сортире" in Russian)

I don't think Vlad the definitely not Mad is stupid enough to offend 10% of his countrymen by linking their religious practices to terrorism.

*Wooden-Headed WOODrow Wilson...

**Religion Of Peace Mon Cul

monster_gardener wrote:ROPMA**

(...)

**Religion Of Peace Mon Cul

Alexis wrote:

monster_gardener wrote:ROPMA**

(...)

**Religion Of Peace Mon Cul

For what I know MG, you may have a fluent command of French, but if you don't and you learnt only a few words to use in specific occasions, let me say you have chosen them well

In other words: yes, I pardon your French!