On February 27, 2015, politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead in the center of Moscow. Since then, Russia has changed radically—not only politically, but morally as well. This crime became the point after which the authorities realized: nothing will happen for killing an opponent.

#BorisNemtsov #VladimirPutin #power #WarinUkraine #warinChechnya #violence #Nemtsovka #memory #policy #criminalpunishmentandpunishment #Russia #securityforces #murder #essay

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In the winter of 1996, nearly twice as many hostages were taken in Kizlyar as in Budyonnovsk just six months earlier; in terms of sheer numbers, the terrorist attack in Dagestan remains the largest in Russian (and apparently world) history to this day. This crisis taught Russian ministers and generals that force is preferable to words, and any loss of life is better than losing face.

#1990s #BorisYeltsin #warinChechnya #Dagestan #hostagetaking #historicalmemory #Caucasus #regimentalcommanders #Russia #separatism #hillup #terrorism #FSB

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