Voice of America
11 Septemver 2005
Russia Remembers All Terror Victims on September 11
By Bill Gasperini
Moscow
Russia marked the fourth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States with a church service to remember, not only the victims of that day, but all victims of terrorism around the world. Only last week, Russia marked the first anniversary of a siege on a school in which 330 people were killed.
Orthodox worshippers came to the Church of St. Catherine in downtown Moscow as they do each Sunday.
But this Sunday's Mass was in commemoration of the terrorist attacks on the United States, in which many foreigners of various nationalities were among the 3,000 people killed.
In the aftermath of those attacks, Russians expressed an outpouring of grief, leaving flowers, icons, and candles in front of the U.S. Embassy.
Sunday's commemoration service was also in memory of victims of terrorism all around the world, including Russia.
Most of the recent attacks in Russia have been related to the conflict in Chechnya, where Russian troops have been trying to crush a bid for independence for more than a decade.
Chechen rebels have been held responsible for suicide bombings on airplanes, apartment blocks, and in Moscow's underground metro system. The most deadly attacks were a hostage taking at a Moscow theater three years ago that killed at least 130 people and the three-day seizure last year of a school in southern Russia.
Top Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev took responsibility for the school attack, in which 330 people were killed when a series of explosions and a police raid ended the three-day siege.
Grief-stricken mourners gathered a week ago on the first anniversary of the siege. The names of all those who died were read out at a cemetery where most of the victims are buried.