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2006 Volkgoroda bombings: Difference between revisions
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| title = 2006 Volkgoroda bombings
| partof = [[Terrorism in Volkia|terrorism in Volkia]]
| image = [[File:2006 Volkgoroda bombing memorial.png|200px]]
| image_size =
| caption = A memorial near an entrance to the Stefan Gurkovsky metro station.
| map =
| map_size =
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| target = Civilians, {{wp|first responders}}
| coordinates =
| date = {{nowrap|{{start date and age |2006|
| time = 7:02 - 7:18 p.m.
| timezone = [[Volkia Standard Time|VST]]
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The '''2006 Volkgoroda bombings''', referred to colloquially as '''
Four homemade bombs were detonated almost simultaneously within Stefan Gurkovsky Square and in the neighboring metro station. Two additional bombs were set to detonate; the first one malfunctioned and injured the bomber, Vanya Tereschenko, while the second failed to detonate his vest and fled the city. The explosions were found to have been caused by {{Wp|triacetone triperoxide}} {{Wp|IEDs}} packed into suicide vests.
The official police investigation found that the attacks were orchestrated by members of the religious doomsday cult [[Yarkiye]] and masterminded by its founder, [[Lukyan Yolkin]]. Yolkin, the failed bombers, and several other members of Yarkiye were convicted for their roles in the attacks. Yolkin and two other high ranking Yarkiye members, Maksim Vakhmistrov and Anatoly Slavyanov, received the [[Capital punishment in Volkia|death penalty]]. They were executed on November 19, 2021. Tereshchenko
Following the attacks the Volkian government designated Yarkiye as a terrorist organization and declared
==Background==
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In 2004 three members of Yarkiye were arrested and convicted for possession of firearms which brought further attention to the group. A mass shooting later that year carried out by a Yarkiye member resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians; the perpetrator was killed by police. The group denied any planning but expressed sympathy to the victims, with an official statement saying the group hopes the victims "found Her Eternal Light." It was suspected the leadership of Yarkiye masterminded the attack but no official connection was found.
Yarkiye members were involved in at least two more incidents with police prior to the bombing, but again investigators were unable to link the group's leadership with the perpetrators. A grand jury issued a subpoena for documents relating to these mass casualty incidents and Yarkiye offices were raided by
== Attacks ==
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* '''7:02 pm''' – Two explosions occur in Gurkovsky Metro station, ≈7 seconds apart.
* '''7:03 pm''' – Transit police alert dispatch to explosions. Emergency calls begin.
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On duty transit police alerted dispatch at 7:03 pm and the first ambulances began arriving at 7:08 pm.
A third bomber, Vanya Tereshchenko, attempted to detonate his suicide vest at 7:11 pm
=== Stefan Gurkovsky Square ===
Two additional bombers (Isidor Koshkin and Vlasiy Volodin), also wearing suicide vests, targeted civilians attending the annual
Kostya Kuzmin was near the square and intended to target first responders at the triage center established by paramedics. He began approaching but "got cold feet" and left the scene. He dumped his vest in an alleyway and fled the city. The bomb was found by police and detonated by controlled explosion. Kuzmin would later be apprehended four days later by officers of the [[Volkian Federal Police]] while trying to board a flight out of country.
==Suspects==
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A total of six attackers were involved, with four dying in suicide suicide bombings, one was arrested in the minutes after the attack, and another was arrested in the weeks after. All six were confirmed to be members of Yarkiye, and Yarkiye's leadership was implicated in interviews with Kostya Kuzmin. They were identified and named as:
*Isidor Koshkin: aged 32. Koshkin was one of the attackers that targeted Stefan Gurkovsky Square. He was considered a fanatical believer in Lukyan Yolkin's teachings, and had previously been arrested and convicted for an attempted robbery of a currency exchange in 1993. He joined Yarkiye in 1997.
*Vlasiy Volodin: aged 26. Volodin also targeted the Square, successfully detonating his vest. He previously had no criminal history but had been dishonorably discharged from the Volkian Air Force in 2001. Volodin joined Yarkiye in 2002.
*Kostya Kuzmin: born March 4, 1984. Kuzmin assisted Koshkin and Volodin in the suicide bombings at the square, but failed to detonate his bomb. He was arrested by federal
*Dmitry Bychkov: aged 27. Bychkov was introduced to Yarkiye through his parents, who were members of Yolkin's first church before his expulsion from the [[Lunarism|Lunarist Church]]. They followed and joined Yarkiye in 1994. Bychkov allegedly was one of the first to volunteer for the attacks; he successfully targeted the Stefan Gurkovsky metro station.
*Iosif Knyazev: aged 31. Knyazev targeted the metro station with Bychkov and Tereshchenko. He was convicted of battery with a deadly weapon in 1994 and was first introduced to religious fanaticism in prison. Upon release, Knyazev found and joined Yarkiye in 2002.
*Vanya Tereshchenko: born November 1, 1983. Tereshchenko assisted Bychkov and Knyazev with the bombings at the metro station. His suicide bomb partially detonated, causing critical injury to himself and minor injuries to those around him. He joined Yarkiye in 2005 and allegedly believed in Yolkin's teachings fanatically. He was arrested and transported to the hospital for his injuries, where he survived.
===Investigation===
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