The Beslan School Siege

This is a bit late but I was in Russia at the time. There is just too much twisted information on the Net about this subject and as far as I am concerned it was never reported accurately in the West.

As an Australian who was visiting Russia at the time it amazes me how the whole thing has been twisted in its reporting on the Internet and in other Western Media.
I at the time had an excellent interpreter and the whole episode was reported at the time more or less Live on Russian TV.
I find it disappointing how Western and other Media and sources have often continued there Dogma driven anti Russian twisting of the situation.
As far as I am concerned the Russians on the scene found themselves in an impossible situation.

As I saw it.
[1] The Russians overnight managed to get about 300 Special Forces into position.[I include in this there Special Forces, Commandos and there Spetsnaz etc.] There is no way there Special Forces are not the equal of any in the World - I had the Privilege of seeing about 40 of them and talking to some of them via an Interpreter while in Sochi - 4 suspected Chechen Terrorists in Town - they were very intelligent and obviously very capable and very balanced men - many with miltilingual skills and all very fit and strong and mature - 25 to 35 in age about - many with Degrees etc. One of the finest group of about 40 men I have ever seen. Unlike the popular belief in the West I never saw them armed. Another bit of Western Propaganda. No doubt they had weapons in there Vehicles but they did not go around Town armed to the teeth like the typical USA types in the same situation or even our own Police in Australia as we copy the USA gun mentality. By the way for those who believe all the Propaganda we get in the West - Russian Police never go armed in Public and never have while going about there normal duties even in Communist times..

[2] The following day the Russian Authorities flew down two plane loads of additional Medical Personel and Equipment.

[3] One thing we were not told on there Media was that many hostages had been killed by the Terrorists from day one. Understandable - there was a lot of Panic in Beslan without that but I have no doubt most residents there knew.
The Number of hostages also was originally reported at hopefully about 300-400 then revised up to 500-600 and within days we were told there were many more. This explains now to me the Panic amongst the Local Population who knew people already had been killed. It would have been impossible to get a good count for days and like all Media, Reporters were making up figures all the time. I don't blame the authorities for this.

[4] The fact people had already been killed by the Terrorists explains why the Russian Authorities could not keep back the crowd of thousands that kept crowding around the Hostage area stoping there Special Forces doing there job properly. At one stage there was at least an estimated 5,000 spectators and family and friends crowding around the area. The Russian Commander made repeated requests for the people to move back so his forces could do there job. The anguish amongst the people was so great most would not leave the scene.

[5] One of the big problems they had was determining who were anxious Parents etc. and who were possibly Terrorist sympathisers in the large crowd that continually hindered the rescue operation.

[6] Many of the onlookers were armed and often hindered the Special Forces by trying to help. Untrained people exposing themselves as Russian Special Forces tried to position themselves better etc. to Rescue the children.
I imagine if my children and my wife was in there I too would not want to leave the area. Russian TV on occasions showed Civilians with Weapons do absolutely stupid things - 5 Special Forces people flat on there guts trying to sneak around the side of the building and some idiot with a rifle from the crowd would run in to join in and give away there position to the Terrorists.
On another occasion the trusted Camera people allowed in close showed 5 - 6 Special Forces trying to crawl up over the Roof of the building just on dark.
Some idiots in the crowd started pointing at them and talking about them - were they really concerned parents or Terrorist sympathisers tipping off the Terrorists? - once that happened the Special Forces had to turn around and retreat back as there position had been given away. This was no ordinary situation as we imagine in the West. Many Russians said to me "who is with us and who is with the Terrorists?". Impossible to tell.
[7] From memory I think the Russian authorities had something like 5,000 troops there within days but they were afraid to use them to force the Crowds back in case it ended in a bloodbath. As one Russian said to me - "The troops will hold there disicipline but if one Terrorist in the crowd or one sympathiser shoots one of our boys they will fire back for sure. The Terrorists will have what they want then as they don't care about people - they will then have an excuse to kill all the hostages and the Western Media will then report -Those ruthless stupid Russians have gone and shot up all those poor innocent civilians and got all the Children killed. We know what your Biased Press is like - we see your News on our TV and the way it loves to twist anything Russian". I agree - our Western Press is disgusting the way it continually plays to the lowest common denominator. Say anything to make a $ and cause a sensation.
These reporters don't seem to know when to end the Cold War. Anything to sell Newspapers and get TV ratings. George Bush encourages this himself too much playing to his Fundamentalist Voters in the USA. People still driven by old dogma who will not let go of there old Cold War dogma..
I have very little doubt some of the concerned onlookers with Rifles etc. may have been Terroist sympathisers or Terrorists themselves. I can appreciate the impossible situation the Russians found themselves in.
[8] There were scores of Ambulances lined up but most could not get in because of the crowds when the unexpected Storming of the building took place. All the onlookers got in the way.
[9] The story about no Fire Engines arriving for hours also is false. Some of the actual Film shows Fire Engines in action within minutes of the Russians being forced to Storm the building.
They may have had Flame Throwers but none were used in the initial assaul from what I could see.
They may have used them once they felt all the Hostages were out. The Roof of the building did not fall in until well after all the hostages were out. Many of the Terrorist bombs did go off - hostages have given evidence to that effect. They should know. The Russian troops did not go in shooting - they held there fire until they were in and could identify the Terrorists. Sure they did blow the windows in as they stormed it and maybe a few hostages did get hurt because of this but what were they supposed to do. Walk up to the window and stand there and get shot as they tried to break the glass or chisel there way through the brick walls.
It had to be quick and I thought they did a good job since they were forced to attack on the spur of the moment.
[10] I believe the official version that the Special Forces only attacked when there was no real alternate after an explosion occured at a window caused by the Terrorists is true. Look at the end of this an authenticated quote on this forum.
[11] Even if the Commander did not want to storm the building he was virtually forced to by the fact that many Civilians with arms started shooting back at the Window where the first Explosion happened. I can remember seeing this on Russian TV. From memeory there was an Explosion at one of the Windows. The Special Forces did nothing [you could not see most of them - they were well hidden] but some of the civilians started shooting at the window where the explosion happened - they were easy to pick as they were not in Uniform - none of the Russian Special Forces fired a shot for at least one minute - you could not even see most of them they were so well hidden. There must have been about a 30 to 60 seconds pause before the Russian Commander must have issued the order to Storm the Building.
He had no real time to think once the above happened.
Yes there were heavier weapons fired at the building from what I could see blowing out windows etc. but I am certain they would have been chosen just to do that and not hurt the hostages as far as possible - there was a lot of Smoke [Obviously smoke grenades etc.] I thought maybe Tear Gas as well but they obviously did not want to use Tear Gas with all the Kids in there and then the concealed troops appeared from everywhere storming the building seconds after they blew out the windows etc. They went in like the HEROES they were - not shooting.
Yes we did see some Special Forces flee from the building just before this - I assume thats why there was a delay of a minute or so - they must have been some of there "Spetsnaz Forces" who had managed to infiltrate the building. [they were dressed like there Spetsnaz Forces]
It makes sense - when forced to do a frontal assault the Commander would order them to get out so they did not get caught up in the crossfire. I have seen these men leaving the building portrayed on the net as there Special Forces fleeing. Far from it - as far as I could see it was the only sensible thing they could do - get out and not hinder the frontal attack the other Special Forces were forced to make. These very same Spetsnaz Forces then immediately followed up the main assault from what I could see putting there lives at risk by helping the Children and adults etc. to escape the carnage. Plenty of Photos showing there distinctive Spetsnaz Forces helping children out etc.
[12] I have seen on the net some of the Local citizens with arms depicted as Russian Special Forces hiding when the terrible frontal attack had to happen. No they were some of the Local Fathers and Friends of the kids who turned up with there AK 47's to help. Dads Army. Like all untrained heroes when the actual assault against the armed Terrorists was inevitable they ran for cover and took pot shots from safety. [Russian Redneck types - they have them too]
I have never heard the results of the enquiry but at the time the Russian authorities thought at least 3-4 of there Special Forces people had been shot in the back as they assaulted the building to try and save the children. It would be just about impossible to determine by forensics as most had AK47's from what I could see. The Terrorists and the privately armed people. Some of the Special Forces too - not the most suitable Weapon but if that was what they were used to it would be pointless to ask them to change to a lighter Calibre weapon overnight. You must remember they mostly were Local Units trained and equipped in that area to fight Chechens and obviously preferred to use a heavier Calibre Weapon for that purpose out in the bush.
[13] There is no way the actual footage of the Storming of the building I saw could have been doctored - it was just too realistic and in sequence and came on TV virtually live. There were cameras there all the time. Anytime of the day you could see something to do with the Crisis on one or more of the TV stations. Many trusted members of the Russian Media were there up close all the time.
Those Russian boys did not hesitate - there was smoke and some explosions obviously designed to blow windows out etc. to gain access and then they just appeared from there hiding places and charged the Building with no hesitation - not shooting for fear they would kill the Hostages - mainly children. They were real heroes to charge like that not being able to shoot back for fear of killing the Hostages.
[14] The World must remember 10 of them died. Sons of Russian Mothers and Fathers.
[15] Maybe they were planning an assault but most Russians thought they would use the special Gas they used in Moscow to rescue the Russians taken hostage in the Theatre there some years before. Yes a few died because of the Gas but not one Terrorist Bomb went off. Russians speculated to me that now having used the Gas once on humans there Doctors would be in a far better situation to minimise any deaths caused by it. They did lose a few in the Theatre rescue from the effects of the Gas but they did save most of them - another impossible situation.
[16] I as an Australian [Capitalist - Conservative - not Socialist] do get very angry when I continually read all the myths on the net and hear all the twisted stuff put up on our Media about Russia. What is our Media trying to do - start the Cold War again to sell Newspapers and get TV ratings. How about a bit of truth and a few facts. Putin talks plenty of good sense but it never gets reported here. He has not got an 80% approval rating for no reason and his Party did not get 63% of the Vote recently for no reason. I wish we had overseas News on our TV with English subscripts or voice over like they get. Russians do get to hear the US and British and French and German point of view - do you in the USA or Britain get to hear directly what Russian News is saying or Middle East News etc. - I bet not - but George always is going on about Freedom of the Press - our Press is not free by a long shot - it is controlled by Dollars and nobody wants to upset our Governments too much for fear they will be restricted in there Dollar making efforts - it is the same here in Australia - all we get is some twisted sensational bit of what Putin says. Not the real Facts. Anything that sells. Usually biased dogma 90% of the time.
[17] Having been there at the time I would like to see how any Special Forces could have done a better job anywhere in the world under the circumstances. 5,000+ onlookers at least - worried parents etc. refusing to move back.
[18] As we all know those Terrorists were the worst of the worst - some Chechen but many from all around the World - they killed there own without hesitation and started killing as soon as they took the building.
They made no allowance for the fact most were children. It is a great pity the Crowd would not move back but I can understand how they felt as they obviously knew many had been killed right from the beginning - I also can understand why the Russian authorities did not try to move all the people back - it may have resulted in a far greater disaster.

A VERY SAD BUT IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION.

One thing I will always remember is sitting with two Russian and one Arab Woman watching all the dead children being carried out that night etc.on Russian TV - they hid nothing as far as I could see. The three women were in tears crying and so was I and the other man - the son of one of the women. The Russians admitted the Local Hospital could not cope - they never expected carnage like they ended up with and Russia was not in good economic shape at that time. There Health services etc. in a state of collapse etc.
The English speaking Arab woman with us then said lets have a look at what the USA News services are saying.

Five minutes into that there tears turned to Anger as the normal Armchair USofA experts shed a few Crocodile Tears and then started on there normal criticism of everything Russian. The BBC was not much better and no doubt my own Media here in Australia was the same.
That did not go down too well at all - 300+ Russian children dead - 10 or 11 Russian boys dead and the USA as usual telling everybody what they should have done. Not on!!! Especially from a Country that has never in my lifetime ever pulled of a decent Rescue attempt of there own. I am 58.
The Russians did there best in very difficult circumstances as far as I could see.
I do believe they were getting ready for an Assault but not the way it happened. They were forced to do what they did when the trigger happy private citizens in the crowd with rifles started to shoot back at the building after the Bomb went off. [Russian Rednecks]. Russians overall are not stupid - they would have done a far better job given time and if the crowd would have moved back but in the end they had no choice.
The camera on the scene when we saw the bomb go off in the window showed it all.
It must have been 30-60 seconds at least before any Russian Soldier moved or fired a shot - if they planned an attack they would have been shooting and charging much sooner. They would not blow one window out and then wait another minute or so before blowing the others out. They would have just went for.
During that minute was when some Civilians started Shooting back from cover at the window where the first explosion happened. Then we saw the troops spring into action and all hell break loose when they obviously got the order to attack.
I feel sorry for the Commander who every day you could see was getting more tired as he pleaded with the crowd to move back etc. and continually briefed all of Russia on TV etc. - I doub't if he had one hour of sleep in the whole period - he obviously did everything he could but being only human may have made mistakes -I am sad to see he has been made a scapegoat in some ways and relieved of his Command in what was really an impossible situation.

From your Forum - this says it all.
[The testimony of My Kulayev - who in May pleaded not guilty to all nine charges against him - also significantly differed from the version presented by the prosecutors.

The 24-year old Chechen carpenter said the first blast happened after a sniper killed one of the hostage-takers, who was holding a detonator.

Several survivors testified that just before the explosion they saw one of the gunmen controlling the detonator slumping off the chair.

The Sniper had to be one of the many armed Civilians [Rednecks] - maybe even a Terrorist trying to provoke an attack. As you know the leader of the Terrorists actually did kill a couple of his own people for daring to question him.

Unlike most of us have been led to believe by USA and British propaganda there are and always have been many privately owned Weapons in the old USSR and the new Russian Federation. There Special Forces are just too disiplined to do something as stupid as that and then wait at least a minute before continuing the attack. It may have been more than a minute - hard to tell when you try to recall such a tense moment.
Compared to the Waco Fiasco in the USA the Russian Forces looked like real Professionals even with all the Spectators and Worried Relatives etc. hanging around.
What would the USA have done - lined up the 5,000 troops and forced the People back risking a bloodbath? We are not talking about a Typical Middle Class USA or Australian Suburb. The main problem was there were too many undiciplined idiots hanging around. [Russian Rednecks].
Not an easy situation to handle. Forget all the Conspiracy Crap you hear. There was only one Conspiracy and that was an International Group of Terrorists trying to make there own twisted point of view using Children as Hostages.
Putin loves children like most Russians and they would never use them as part of a Conspiracy. The ridiculous Conspiracy theories must be rejected. In my one month there with ordinary Russians I really grew to like most Russians and there great Culture and there intelligence and there ability to see both sides of most arguments. That one month made me realise how much crap and Propaganda we have been fed over the last 40-50 years by our own Media and Governments.

We have nothing to fear from Russians - they only ever will be a threat to us if we fail to understand there point of view and continue to distort most things Russian.

I now have to laugh as they get back on there feet and get there industry going - oil exports etc. the way every second Western Reporter portrays it as Russia trying to hold the West to ransom.
They are no different to us - there main motivation is to make some money and get there health system working again and get all there unemployed back to work etc. and of course as this happens they start to see the hipocracy of the so called Free Traders of the West with there quotas and tariffs etc. They were sold a dummy there and are now starting to see that also.

They are accused of being bullies now for trying to get World Parity for there Gas sales to there ex Republics etc. Many have not paid a dime for years or have been paying half World Price etc.
I would like the Reporters and Politicians in the West who say these things to show me the cases where Western Nations have supplied Gas etc. for nothing or at half price to other Countries for 15 -17 years like the Russians have.
The USA did not give Mexico a decent trade deal until recently.

Russian defence spending is modest also by Western Standards but with some of the World best technology developed by there now Private Firms in this area they will not be any pushover in that area for a long time to come.
They amaze me how with the limited resources they have how they have managed to keep a lot of there Defence Technology right up with the Best.
I think thats what I liked about Russians - there straight up attitude and there ability to always find a way.
Yes they are very clever People overall who must have had a very good Education system.

I also like the way they talk about Balance.
Balance in the way you deal with the rest of the World.
The way they believe everybody has a right to there own point of view and Culture.

One thing I did learn is virtually none of them want a Democracy or Society like the one the USA has.
They also do value there old Culture. As an Australian I envy them there Culture.
Despite the mess there Country was in there was something "intangible" I really liked about most of the Russian people.
I think it is there blunt honesty - no pretense - no double standards or something and the Women are absolutely beautiful.

Ross

My facts may not be perfect but I do consider it a fair representation of the situation as I saw it and all Russians saw it. It was some time ago and I may have got some of it a bit wrong.