The memorial day was established by the Federal law ” on amendments to the Federal law “on days of military glory (victory days) Russia” from July 21, 2005. This day is dedicated to the tragic events that took place on September 1-3, 2004 in the city of Beslan, when more than 300 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an unprecedented terrorist act.
The day of solidarity in the fight against terrorism symbolizes the unity of the state and society in the fight against such a terrible phenomenon as terrorism. On this day, Russia pays tribute to the memory of thousands of compatriots who died at the hands of terrorists in Beslan, in the theater center on Dubrovka, in Budennovsk, Pervomaisky, in the explosions of residential buildings in Moscow, Buinaksk and Volgodonsk, and in hundreds of other terrorist acts.
The last major terrorist attack on the territory of Russia occurred in April 2017 in St. Petersburg. On the afternoon of April 3, an explosion occurred on the stretch between the Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologicheskiy Institut-2 stations of the St. Petersburg metro.
Another explosion, at the Ploshchad Vosstaniya station, was prevented by the timely detection of an improvised explosive device. The total number of dead was 16, including the suicide bomber himself. More than 90 people were injured. In Russia as a whole, the trend of decreasing terrorist activity continues. As the Secretary of the security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev noted, the level of terrorist activity in Russia has decreased by more than 30 times since 2010, and the number of terrorist attacks has decreased by 10 times.
According to Nikolai Patrushev, at the same time, terrorists are constantly improving their tactics, actively using modern technical means, and using various methods of conspiracy.The head of the FSB of Russia, Alexander Bortnikov, notes that the leaders of international terrorist organizations focus their supporters on the implementation of the so-called Autonomous Jihad. The targets of bandits are usually civilians, law enforcement officers, and urban and social infrastructure facilities. In 2018, Russian special services managed to prevent 35 terrorist crimes, including 19 terrorist attacks.
According to the Ministry of internal Affairs, the number of terrorist acts in Russia decreased by 16% compared to 2017. In total, 1.67 thousand terrorist crimes (-10.3%) and 1.26 thousand extremist crimes (-16.8%) were registered in 2018. At the same time, the Ministry of internal Affairs noted that 748 crimes of a terrorist nature and 1,18 thousand of extremist ones were solved.
In addition, 1.5 thousand reports of an act of terrorism were received, which is 49.5% less than in 2017. Law enforcement officers managed to solve 797 such crimes and identify 756 people who left false messages.On September 3, in order to consolidate various segments of society in countering terrorism, state authorities, local self-government bodies, and public associations hold socio-political, cultural, and sports events in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities dedicated to the memory of victims of terrorist attacks, as well as employees of special services and law enforcement agencies who died in the line of duty.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources.