What Monday’s subway bombings mean for Putin’s Russia
Monday afternoon’s bombing of the St. Petersburg subway, which killed 14 people and injured dozens, brought all-too-familiar images of panicked crowds and bodies in the rubble. But the biggest consequences of the bombing may be not in the attack itself but what it means for the short-term future of Russian politics.
Minutes after the explosion, Russian-language Twitter was swarming with conspiracy theories and dark accusations of President Vladimir Putin’s involvement. Prominent opposition figures such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Garry Kasparov immediately questioned the timing of the attacks, which came just days after massive protests engulfed the country.
Khodorkovsky quickly drew a parallel to the 1999 apartment bombings in Moscow and other cities, which began the second Chechen war and helped consolidate Putin’s hold on power.… Seguir leyendo »