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Capstone Presentation: Hostage Crisis at the Dubrovka Theater
Date: Friday, April 17, 2009
Location: 3431 Posvar Hall Time: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Presenters: Carrie Bradley, Danielle Grubbs, Manja Hamzic, Bart Hennigan, Ryan Martin, Manuel Machillanda, Craig Meckler, Kirk Wachenheimer, and James Zevchak On October 23, 2002, fifty armed Chechen militants, both men and women, entered Dubrovka Theater in Moscow and took 850 persons hostage. Their self-proclaimed motivation was Chechen nationalism, and they were purportedly prepared to kill themselves and the hostages unless Russia withdrew its troops from Chechnya. Russian authorities prolonged the ordeal with arguably shoddy negotiation attempts. And after 56 hours, Russian Special Forces pumped an incapacitating chemical weapon through the ventilation system and then invaded the theater. All of the Chechen militants were killed, along with 129 hostages. This presentation thoroughly examines this event, the history of the Russo-Chechen conflict, and the subsequent actions of the Chechens, Russians, and international community to answer the following questions: Who were these Chechens? Why did they carry out this attack? Was the Russian response effective and within the confines of international law? Visit the Ridgway Center's Web site for additional information (www.ridgway.pitt.edu), or contact Beverly Brizzi at 412-624-7884 or brizzi@gspia.pitt.edu. |
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