Putin and the Apartment Bombs: 7. Hindsight

About this episode

The episode revisits the September 1999 apartment bombings in Russia, exploring theories about who was responsible and the implications for Vladimir Putin's rise to power.

Who bombed the four apartment buildings? The reporters who covered this story look back with over 25 years of distance to answer a one question: who do they think bombed those four apartment buildings back in September 1999? Was it the Chechen militants the government blamed? Or was it an FSB plot - to create a climate of fear so that one of their own - Vladimir Putin - could step in as the hard man the country needed - and become President? Or is that nothing more than a wild conspiracy theory? In Season 1 of The History Bureau, presenter Helena Merriman returns to one of the most contested - and consequential - stories in modern Russia. In September 1999, just weeks after Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia. The bombs exploded in the middle of the night, killing hundreds of people while they slept. In this season, Merriman returns to the story with the reporters who were there on the ground. What did they get right first time around? And, in the chaos and confusion of unfolding events, what did they miss? Presenter: Helena Merriman Series Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Executive Editor: Annie Brown

People in this episode

Host: Helena Merriman

Topics covered

• Russian history
• Putin
• terrorism
• journalism
• conspiracy theories
• modern Russia

Keywords

• Putin
• apartment bombings
• FSB
• Chechen militants
• Russia
• journalism
• conspiracy theory

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FSB, BBC

Places: Russia