2006 Moscow market bombing
Encyclopedia
The 2006 Moscow market bombing occurred on August 21, 2006, when a self-made bomb
of the power of more than 1 kg of TNT exploded at Moscow
's Cherkizovsky Market
frequented by foreign merchants. In 2008, eight members of the racialist organization The Saviour
(Спас) were sentenced for their roles in the attack.
Many traders at the market are from Asia
and the Caucasus
. As of October 3, 2006, 13 persons were confirmed dead: six citizens of Tajikistan
, three citizens of Uzbekistan
, two citizens of Russia
, a woman from Belarus
, and a man who was a Chinese citizen
. Eight people died on the scene, two in the hospital on the same day as the bombing, and three at a later date. The latest person to die of the bombing was a man who was a citizen of Tajikistan who died on September 28, 2006, in a hospital.
Two ethnic Russian suspect
s were arrested, and the general prosecutor
of Moscow Yuri Syomin charged them of a racially-motivated murder. The prosecutor's office officially indicted three university students, Oleg Kostyrev, Ilya Tikhomirov (both 20 years old) and Valeri Zhukovtsev (18 years old) on a racially-motivated murder
charge on August 22. The police investigation was finished on August 7, 2007.
According to the investigation, Kostyrev, Tikhomirov and Zhukovtsev were members of the nationalistic club The Saviour
. The leader of the club, Nikolai Korolev (a former FSB officer), and two more club members, Sergei Klimuk and a police academy
student Nikita Senyukov, were co-indicted with Kostyrev, Tikhomirov and Zhukovtsev on the charges of murder, terrorism
, organizing a criminal gang and illegal production and storage of explosives. Senyukov was also indicted for murder of an Armenian
student on a subway. Allegedly, the conspirators have performed numerous explosions before, without any victims, blowing up Azerbaijan
i-owned stores, an Armenian refugee hostel and an office of a Georgia
n-born fortune teller.
On May 15, 2008, after a guilty verdict in the jury trial, Korolev, Klimuk, Tikhomirov and Kostyrev received a sentence of life imprisonment
. Zhukovtsev received 20 years in prison, Senyukov - 13 years and two students who actually delivered the bomb to the market, Dmitri Fedoseyenkov and Nikolai Kachalov only 2 years (the court decided they were not a part of the "criminal enterprise"). Later the same month, the appeal was filed with the Supreme Court by the convicted. Fedoseyenkov and Kachalov were released from prison on March 20, 2009 after serving their sentence. Other convict's appeals were still underway as of that time.
In August 2010, it was announced that Korolev and Kostyrev are also suspects in a murder of a Chinese citizen by stabbing in Moscow on May 19, 2006.
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
of the power of more than 1 kg of TNT exploded at Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's Cherkizovsky Market
Cherkizovsky Market
The Cherkizovsky Market , also known as Cherkizon was Europe's largest marketplace, located in Izmaylovo District, Moscow, Russia, near the Lokomotiv Stadium and Cherkizovskaya Moscow Metro station. It was owned by Telman Ismailov's AST Group. In its heyday the market employed an estimated 100,000...
frequented by foreign merchants. In 2008, eight members of the racialist organization The Saviour
The Saviour
The Saviour is a militant nationalist organization which claimed credit for the August 2006 Moscow market bombing. Media reports indicate that the market, located near Cherkizovsky, was targeted due to its high volume of Central Asian and Caucasus clientele....
(Спас) were sentenced for their roles in the attack.
Many traders at the market are from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. As of October 3, 2006, 13 persons were confirmed dead: six citizens of Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, three citizens of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, two citizens of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, a woman from Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, and a man who was a Chinese citizen
Chinese citizen
Chinese citizen can refer to*A citizen of the People's Republic of China **Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, the law which defines PRC citizenship**People's Republic of China passport, granted to PRC citizens...
. Eight people died on the scene, two in the hospital on the same day as the bombing, and three at a later date. The latest person to die of the bombing was a man who was a citizen of Tajikistan who died on September 28, 2006, in a hospital.
Two ethnic Russian suspect
Suspect
In the parlance of criminal justice, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a crime.Police and reporters often incorrectly use the word suspect when referring to the...
s were arrested, and the general prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
of Moscow Yuri Syomin charged them of a racially-motivated murder. The prosecutor's office officially indicted three university students, Oleg Kostyrev, Ilya Tikhomirov (both 20 years old) and Valeri Zhukovtsev (18 years old) on a racially-motivated murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
charge on August 22. The police investigation was finished on August 7, 2007.
According to the investigation, Kostyrev, Tikhomirov and Zhukovtsev were members of the nationalistic club The Saviour
The Saviour
The Saviour is a militant nationalist organization which claimed credit for the August 2006 Moscow market bombing. Media reports indicate that the market, located near Cherkizovsky, was targeted due to its high volume of Central Asian and Caucasus clientele....
. The leader of the club, Nikolai Korolev (a former FSB officer), and two more club members, Sergei Klimuk and a police academy
Police academy
A police academy is a training school for new police recruits, also known as a law enforcement academy.-Australia:Larger police departments usually run their own academies. States often run a centralised academy for training of personnel of law enforcement agencies within the state.Police...
student Nikita Senyukov, were co-indicted with Kostyrev, Tikhomirov and Zhukovtsev on the charges of murder, terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, organizing a criminal gang and illegal production and storage of explosives. Senyukov was also indicted for murder of an Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
student on a subway. Allegedly, the conspirators have performed numerous explosions before, without any victims, blowing up Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i-owned stores, an Armenian refugee hostel and an office of a Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
n-born fortune teller.
On May 15, 2008, after a guilty verdict in the jury trial, Korolev, Klimuk, Tikhomirov and Kostyrev received a sentence of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. Zhukovtsev received 20 years in prison, Senyukov - 13 years and two students who actually delivered the bomb to the market, Dmitri Fedoseyenkov and Nikolai Kachalov only 2 years (the court decided they were not a part of the "criminal enterprise"). Later the same month, the appeal was filed with the Supreme Court by the convicted. Fedoseyenkov and Kachalov were released from prison on March 20, 2009 after serving their sentence. Other convict's appeals were still underway as of that time.
In August 2010, it was announced that Korolev and Kostyrev are also suspects in a murder of a Chinese citizen by stabbing in Moscow on May 19, 2006.