The Global Story: The mystery of Putin and the apartment bombs
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hey there, I'm Asma Khalid.
And I'm Tristan Redman, and we're here with a bonus episode for you from the Global Story podcast.
The world order is shifting. Old alliances are fraying and new ones are emerging. Some of this turbulence can be traced to decisions made in the United States. But the US isn't just a cause of the upheaval. Its politics are also a symptom of it.
Every day we focus on one story, looking at how America and the world shape each other.
So we hope you enjoy this episode. And to find more of our show, just search for The Global Story, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. When you're trying to make sense of the world in this moment, one person central to it all is Vladimir Putin.
What events led to the apartment bombings in Russia in 1999?
And although here on this show, we have looked at Putin's backstory and how it informs Russia today, there remains a pivotal series of events during his rise to power that is still shrouded in confusion and controversy. In September 1999, just weeks after Putin became prime minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia. The bombs exploded in the middle of the night, killing hundreds of people while they slept. In the aftermath of the bombings, many strange things happened. And that led to several different theories about who could have been behind those attacks. The Russian government blamed militants from Chechnya, a rebellious region in the south of Russia. But some said the bombings were the work of the FSB, Russia's security services.
There's a theory that Vladimir Putin himself had a hand in them, although the FSB and President Putin have always denied this.
How did the Russian government respond to the bombings?
Putin has called the suggestion utter nonsense and totally insane. What isn't in dispute is that the atmosphere of terror that followed the bombings was part of Putin's case for launching a war in Chechnya that set the stage for his rise to the presidency. A new BBC podcast tells the story of the apartment bombings in detail and tries to get close to the truth behind this 26-year-old mystery. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C., and today on The Global Story, how the 1999 apartment bombings helped propel Putin's rise to power.
So I'm Helena Merriman. I'm a journalist. I reported for the BBC for many years, from frontline war reporting to elections. And I'd say for me, one of the interesting things through my career has been looking at that meeting point between journalism and history, which is partly what this podcast does.
Helena is the host of the new BBC podcast I mentioned. It's called The History Bureau, Putin and the Apartment Bombs.
What theories emerged regarding who was responsible for the bombings?
I started out by asking Helena why she wanted to tell this particular story.
Well, as a journalist, as much as I love looking at what's going on right now in the present, I think I've always been drawn to stories in the past where the dust hasn't quite settled. And I think the story of the apartment bombs is probably one of the most intriguing examples of that. In fact, I'd say it's probably one of the most important unresolved stories of recent history. So it's about four bombs that blew up four apartments in September 1999. killing hundreds of people while they slept. What's interesting about this story is that even now, there are these huge disagreements about who bombed those four apartments. So the government blamed Chechen militants, but others blamed the FSB, which is Russia's internal security service, partly because of very strange, murky things that went on at the time, which I'm sure we'll get into later.
But it's also a story that tells us so much about one of the most powerful men in the world today, Vladimir Putin, because he becomes president right at the time of the bombs. So if you want to understand Putin's origin story, this is a really important place to start.
What role did Vladimir Putin play during the aftermath of the bombings?
Well, I will say many listeners might not know this story at all. So can you take us back to the beginning?
Where does it all begin? So it all begins in September 1999. And maybe it's helpful to give a bit of political context at the time.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:40
2
What events led to the apartment bombings in Russia in 1999?
1:40–2:38
3
How did the Russian government respond to the bombings?
2:38–3:56
4
What theories emerged regarding who was responsible for the bombings?
3:56–5:12
5
What role did Vladimir Putin play during the aftermath of the bombings?
5:12–6:05
6
What was the public's reaction to Putin's speeches following the attacks?
6:05–7:16
7
What was the significance of the Ryazan incident in the bombing narrative?
7:16–8:02
8
How did the bombings impact Putin's rise to power?
8:02–30:24
Speakers
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