Update: Russia after the Crocus Hall massacre

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

Podmasters

News, Society & Culture, Politics

4.9 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2024

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Special edition: On Friday March 22, Islamic State gunmen murdered more than 130 people in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue, just 12 miles from the Kremlin. Putin tried to direct the blame towards Ukraine, but it has emerged that Russia’s FSB had ignored plausible warnings of an impending terror attack from Western security services. Gavin Esler speaks to Russian investigative journalist and security services expert Andrei Soldatov about this catastrophic failure of Russian intelligence, her military and her emergency services – and the possible consequences of the Crocus City Hall massacre. Buy The Compatriots: The Russian Exiles Who Fought Against the Kremlin by Andrei Soldatov through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll be helping to support This Is Not A Drill. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. Support This Is Not A Drill on Patreon to get early episodes, merchandise and more. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:26.0	Terms and eligibility criteria apply. Smart meter customers only. The Oh, uh, yeah. Oh, uh, mmm. Mm. Hello and welcome to an update episode of This Is Not a Drill.
0:59.7	I'm Gavin Eszler.
1:01.1	In our previous podcast we reported on a new era of espionage as the CIA
1:05.6	and other US government intelligence agencies warned publicly of an increasingly
1:10.4	fragile global order. Meanwhile in Europe, from Ukraine to the Baltic and beyond,
1:16.0	Russian intelligence operatives have been increasingly active and menacing.
1:21.0	But then, on Friday, March 22nd more than 130 people were killed in
1:26.2	Russia itself. Gunman attacked the audience in the Crocus concert hall just
1:30.8	12 miles from the Kremlin. Islamic State claimed responsibility.
1:35.0	Four men from Tajikistan were arrested and brutally treated by the Russian authorities.
1:40.0	But all this leaves many more questions than answers. Western intelligence agencies
1:46.3	actually warned Vladimir Putin's own intelligence agencies, including the FSB, that an Islamist
1:52.3	terrorist attack in Russia was imminent.
1:54.7	For some inexplicable reason these warnings were ignored or discounted.
2:00.0	For his insight on the attack and what looks like an extraordinary Russian intelligence failure.
2:04.6	I'm joined again by the Russian intelligence expert Andre Soledatov.
	...

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