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Hostages V. Popov and S. Il'ina tell their tales
Written by Àííà Àìåëüêèíà, Àííà Âåëèãæàíèíà, Ìàðèíà Ñàôîíîâà   
Ïÿòíèöà, 01 Íîÿáðü 2002
‘Lucky’ Volodya
 
He was on the Arbat when the governor of Magadan was killed there, and he was in a McDonald’s when a bomb went off. But then he went to unwind at ‘Nord-Ost’
 
When a tragedy like this happens, many people ask themselves: why did it happen this way? Why were these people at this fateful spot at this fateful hour? Astrologers claim (albeit after the event) that it is all written in the stars. Superstitious people believe that it is preordained at birth, while the religious say that everything is in God’s hands. One way or another: we are not freely disposed.
 
The stories we are relating today ended happily, though some of the participants seemed pulled into the maelstrom of events as if by an evil providence. At the last moment, others hesitated in taking a seemingly inevitable step, but what is truly in our power is the ability to remain human during even the most inhuman situations. This is what our heroes did. If only there were less of these situations.
 
Vladimir Yevgenyevich, geologist, came to Moscow from the Far East on a business trip. On the eve of his departure, friends who had already been to the capital drew up a sight-seeing program for him: he simply must go to Noviy Arbat, they said, and then go eat a hamburger at McDonald’s. Otherwise it was as if he had not even been to Moscow. Afterwards he should go and take in a theater show somewhere.
 
Arriving in the capital, Vladimir acted strictly according to plan. He performed his mission at a ministry, and on October 18th went to the Arbat first thing in the morning in order to buy his wife a leather handbag for a present. Some jostling started while he was there, and then the police ran up, pushing a lusting Vladimir from the shops. In reply to his naive question: “What just happened?” someone yelled that a famous person had been killed — Tsvetkov, the governor of Magadan! The unperturbed provincial once again asked: “Right here on the Arbat?” but no one answered. No one would give him the time of day.
 
On the next day, October 19th, he decided to visit McDonald’s. He only got a taste of his fries (he had not even started on his hamburger) when outside there was a blast. Glass went flying, and people screamed. It turned that a car parked next to the McDonald’s had blown up. Miraculously unscathed, Vladimir decided: “I'll never so much as put one foot inside a McDonald’s again.”
 
So he decided to relax after all this stress. He asked the lady at a ticket office where most Muscovites love to go. If only the wicked lady had said the zoo, but instead she advised: “Go see a musical!”
 
The cashier even said, Vladimir recalled, that ‘Nord-Ost’ was the most emotionally powerful.
 
He wanted to go on Monday, but there were no good seats left, but there were good ones for Wednesday, the 23rd.
 
Vladimir: “When the people in masks and carrying guns jumped on stage, I didn’t realize right away that it was serious. I knew that a war scenario was assumed, but I thought this was something avant-garde directors came up with.”
 
- What did people say? Was there a panic?
 
“We talked in little groups, with those sitting beside us and in front of us. Cells formed and we shared medicine and water. Only the foreigners panicked. Not far from me were some Germans. They were a pity to look at, while ours… talked a lot more.”
 
- About what?
 
“About everything. They specifically recalled some household stuff, made plans about what to do what once they were released from there. Someone had to pick up underwear from the cleaners. Someone else needed to pay the phone bill. In front of me sat a woman, and she told me about her niece and about her personal life. I fell asleep, woke up, and there she’s still talking away like a babbling brook. This was a healthy distraction from gloomy thoughts.”
 
- Did they talk to the Chechens?
 
“Useless. They said that if negotiations didn’t happen, they’d start cutting our heads off and tossing them out into the street. I had no doubt that it could happen.”
 
- But some of the hostages said that the terrorists were nice and gave chocolate.
 
“They didn't give it. They just tossed it into the hall. That’s different. We still hoped that they’d released the women, so we wrote on the women’s programs phone numbers they could call to report about us.”
 
Vladimir handed his program to the musical’s producer, Georgy Vasilyev, in the next row. Georgy wrote: “This adventure has a happy ending.”
 
The only pity is that Vladimir lost the program during the assault.
 
“When the gas came I soaked a handkerchief with water and pressed it to my nose. Then I looked around. I didn’t pass out until I saw that the Chechen closest to us fell to her knees, and then instantly she fell asleep. Then I realized that she hadn’t connected the contacts (on her bomb), and then I fell asleep myself.”
 
Vladimir Yevgenyevich is reluctant to give his surname: “Well, just write Popov. Back home a lot of people still don’t know what happened to me, and I don’t want to frighten them.”
 
- Do such events often happen to you? What else do you think you will visit while in Moscow?
 
“I'm a little tired here, but I’d like to meet my comrades. Somehow I lost my program with their phone numbers!”
 
Vladimir has been standing out in the rain at Hospital No. 1 for two days, waiting for the rest of his group to come out. He looks closely at the faces of everyone who leaves. Toward evening, on the hospital threshold appears a light-haired, almost transparent girl.
 
“Ira! Ira!” cries my companion, forgetting about the rain, the journalists, and everyone around. Dropping his rain-soaked beret, newspapers, and something else, he pushes his way over to the smiling girl: “I found her! We sat next to each other! Fourth row, seat eighteen!”
 
By Anna AMELKINA
 
On October 23rd, Masha Gushchina was supposed to go to her dance troupe’s rehearsal, which was in one of the halls of theatrical center where the musical ‘Nord-Ost’ was showing. At the last moment, however, she changed her mind for some reason and rescheduled it for the next day. Igor Denisov, her favorite artistic director, had to rehearse the ‘Iridan’ troupe without her.
 
Masha adores Irish dance. More than two years ago she came to work out in a newly opened studio, and simply fell head over heels for the artistic director. She was 21, and he was 37. They fell in love. They danced together, and back at home all she talked about was dancing.
 
“I wasn't scared by the news of the hostage-taking,” says Mariya. “I even shouted to my parents: Look, that’s the wing where Igor and me work out! I was sure that Igor had already finished rehearsal and was sitting at home, but just in case I called him up, only, there was no answer. Then suddenly Igor calls me on his cell phone, he says: I’m being held hostage, don’t worry, everything’s fine. I felt ill… It turned out that the guys stayed later than usual. One dancer left 10 minutes before the hostage taking. She had a sudden headache. She didn’t notice anything suspicious. Everything was quiet!
 
“At the moment of the capture their dancing heels were making such a racket that they didn’t hear anything. They were all heated up from the workout, and wearing shorts and skirts when they were taken hostage. We thought that the terrorists would at least release our Georgian dancer. Her father offered to trade himself for her, but nothing came of this.
 
“It was a kind of fatal destiny! Dancers from the Flamenco group that worked out next to us were, thankfully, they finished with rehearsal on time, but our dancers for some reason were delayed that day! When you start to think about it, your head spins… But I understand what happiness is! Happiness is when your beloved is alive! Yesterday I was with Igor in the hospital. He’s still getting treated. It was as if Igor was under a spell: he only talked about our dancing, probably so as not to think about what he went through. Now everyone who’s been discharged is going to clinics on the advice of doctors: the gas seems to be psychotropic and its effects may damage the liver. The terrorists interfered with our creative plans, but in spite of them all we’ll hold a concert on December 1st. Come to it!”
 
By Anna VELIGZHANINA
Svetlana IL'INA: I will definitely find him!
 
Svetlana was given tickets to ‘Nord-Ost’ by a girlfriend who was too sick to go. “I was so happy,” the girl said. “My first time at a musical! I even consulted with my friends on what to wear. The other girls at work joked: Well, Sveta, don’t come back without a groom.
 
“During the second part I moved from tenth row to an empty seat in the sixth. Beside me there was a young man, a real spectacular one! I was still thinking about how to catch his eye…
 
“When into the hall burst these masked men. He turned to me and said: How natural they thought this all out! Only ten minutes later, when the bandits began to put explosives around the hall, we realized that everything that was happening was not a game.
 
“Only thanks to Igor was I able to endure the horror! He turned out to be a real man. For all those days he tried to reassure our neighbors. He told stories and even jokes. To his left a woman was sitting with her daughters. When they started throwing chocolate and water to us, Igor gave everything to them, and to me. Only occasionally did he take a sip of water.
 
“During the time we were in the theater, Igor became for me my dearest person in the world. He said to me: Talk in a whisper when you talk, and it’ll be easier. I told him everything about myself: how we came from Kazan, how things weren’t great at work, how I flunked my tests at the institute, but then he smiled and said: If you stay alive, I’ll help you with work.
 
When the terrorists gunned down a man who tried to escape, I was desperate. In the row behind us sat a woman, who told her neighbor: You need to sleep – it’s not scary to die in a dream. I fell asleep, but Igor nudged me in the ribs and said: Don’t sleep or you’ll freeze. I came to in the street, where I had been carried by one of the commandos, but what I don’t know what happened to Igor. I can’t find him — I don't even know his last name! I went to the headquarters to look at all the lists and wrote down every Igor under the age of 30, and I will go every hospital and even the morgues. But I believe he’s alive! And I will definitely find him!”
 
By Marina SAFONOVA
 
 
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