Helena Merriman

They then sealed the files away for the next 75 years.

But of course, that's not what's happened.

And I think one of the most interesting things to discover is just how live questions around this story still are in Russia today.

I think what this story tells us is just how much the Russia we see today was forged in that moment back in 1999.

So when you look at Russia now,

I think you see a country that's closing in on itself.

You have independent newsrooms have been shut down, reporters in exile, Western news sites have been blocked, Facebook, Instagram and X, these platforms that once connected Russia to the outside world, they've all been banned.

And when you look at how the Kremlin handled the apartment bombs, I think you can see a template there for how they would continue to act and how they would manage future scandals.

So whenever you've seen crises since then, whether that's plane crashes, bombings, the pattern's the same.

They move very fast to control the narrative.

They flood the media with the official version of events.

And they close investigations very quickly before any of these awkward questions can be asked.

So I think for us looking at this story now, it's really not just about what happened in 1999.

It's about how power works in Russia now.

And how narratives are controlled.

And amidst that control, what I find fascinating is how very brave people in Russia are still asking these questions even now.

If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft turns out to be flawed?

In 1999, four apartment buildings were blown up in Russia, hundreds killed.

But 25 years on, we still don't know for sure who did it.

It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories.