10 Killed, Dozens Injured in Moscow Suicide Blast

10 Killed, Dozens Injured in Moscow Suicide Blast

August in Russia is always ripe with disaster. In 1991 it was the putsch.
In 1998, it was the economic collapse, ruining millions of Russians and taking thousands of companies out of business.
In 2000 there was that explosion in Pushkinskaya Sq. (still unsolved), the Kursk disaster, and the fire that burnt down Ostankino TV station.
In 2004 we were hoping, that double airplane crash is tragedy enough.
We were wrong: 4 hours before the end of August a suicide bomber blew herself opposite Rizhskaya subway station, leaving 10 dead and dozens of Muscovites seriously injured.

And the worse was yet to come...

Double Passenger Airplane Disaster

Double Passenger Airplane Disaster on MN-FILES

It all started as if it were a coincidence. Two planes on their way to quite random destinations: neither Sochi nor Volgograd had seen any terrorist activities lately... As improbable as this coincidence might seem, indeed, but still for as long as we could avoid believing in the worst, we'd rather do just that.

Unfortunately, not only did the worst scenario prove to be true, but this time it was also meant as a beginning of full-fledged war. Too bad it took the authorities almost a week to realize what we are facing here, and they're still clueless as to how many more attacks were in the planning.

Top 8 Russian Stories, as Picked By MosNews Readers in August 2004

The following 8 news articles made for most popular reading among MosNews.Com visitors in August 2004:

Winged Cat From Hell Put to Death in Central Russia — July 27th

Russian Researchers Say Debris of Alien Spaceship found in Siberia — August 10th

Russian Museum to Exhibit Rasputin’s Penis — April 28th

Boy Raised by Dog Found in South Siberia — August 3rd

Shark Attack Nearly Costs Far East Man a Leg — July 30th

Tennis Star Myskina Sues GQ Over Topless Photos — August 9th

Russian Orthodox, Muslims Battle Mormon Building in South Russia — August 9th

Spacecraft Maker Says Russia No Longer to Carry Supplies to ISS for Free — August 4th

The list will be updated, as soon as new articles attain comparable popularity with those listed above.

Russian-Israeli Mafia Boss Murdered Near Moscow

Russian-Israeli Mafia Boss Murdered Near Moscow — MosNews.Com reports. This poor kid had once made headlines, becoming the first and the last Russian mobster, who was extradited from Israel on Russian authorities' request. Needless to say, it was extremely easy for Mr. Zhuravlyov to buy his way out of Russian jail: there is no such thing as juror protection in Moscow, so if any gentleman on that jury could not be bought outright, he could be easily and cheaply intimidated by thugs working for the defendant.

It proved a more difficult task, however, to obtain adequate protection from Mr. Zhuravlyov's own colleagues. Unsurprisingly for a man of his trade, he used to have too many enemies, and they proved more efficient in dealing with him, than both local police and the courts.

May we remain in peace, after the passing of this belligerent compatriot of ours.

Abramovich Does It Again

Roman Abramovich, of Chelsea fame, has reportedly set his sights on an Italian resort, where Persey Bysshe Shelley used to drown back there in his young days.

Eco del Mar might be quite a distance from Chukotka, of which Abramovich is the guv, but so is the borough of Chelsea, so who cares.

What's interesting, though, is that we keep hearing about all sorts of Abramovich acquisitions lately, and some 80% of these rumours lately prove totally unfounded. It seems like there's someone behind the stories — obviously a ressourceful someone, who badly needs to infuriate both Roman's poorer compatriots and his Kremlin partners with all those headlines.

If this plot ever succeeds, Abramovich will have to chose between the paths of his two ex-partners: Mr. Berezovsky, who fled to London, and Mr. Khodorkovsky, who chose jail in his hometown. Regardless of Roman's ultimate choice (I'd bet on him fleeing, 100:1), his carefully amassed wealth, worth billions, will come up for grabs, and our Ressourceful Someone expects himself to be among the first invited to the looting festival...