Two female suicide bombers, apparently dispatched by Chechens, blew themselves up in the Moscow underground, killing at least 35 people and wounding dozens.
The bombing operation was not well-coordinated, as the second bomber detonated herself 45 minutes after the first one. Had the Russian police boosted security measures at other train stations immediately, the second bomber could well have been caught.
The Moscow bombing comes on the heels of the November railroad bombing, which took 26 lives. At the time, Russian officials downplayed the terrorist threat.
During the economic crisis, Russia cannot afford a major war in Chechnya, but neither can Putin afford to abandon his image as a tough fellow. It will be interesting to see if Russia can stop Chechen terrorism and Chechnya’s national liberation movement by its common barbaric measures.
Muslim terrorism is unlikely to set Russia’s ruling establishment at odds with Arab countries. Rather, security cooperation between Russia and Muslim regimes will increase.
