Relatives of the victims of "Nord-Ost" shared their memories on the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attack.

Relatives of those who died in the terrorist attack in Dubrovka spoke about their loss and ongoing attempts to clarify the circumstances of their loved ones' deaths. On the 24th anniversary of the tragedy, victims and relatives of the victims gathered at the theater center in Moscow, where they laid flowers, lit lamps, and honored the memory of the deceased.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the anniversary of the terrorist attack at the Theater Center in Dubrovka is commemorated annually in Russia. On October 23, 2002, terrorists took hostage the audience and participants of the musical "Nord-Ost" and held them for almost three days, and on October 26, security forces conducted an assault using gas. According to official data, 130 hostages died, including ten children, and more than 700 people were injured.

On the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attack at the Theater Center in Dubrovka in Moscow, victims, relatives of the deceased, and other Muscovites gathered at the theater on Melnikova Street to honor the memory of the victims. At the central entrance, 130 red lamps were lit – corresponding to the number of officially recognized deceased. A flower was placed by each lamp, and relatives displayed portraits of the deceased. Their names were read aloud at the event, reported NewsRoom24 on October 26.

People began arriving at the theater early in the morning and laid flowers at the memorial, reported the Telegram channel "Caution, Moscow" on October 26.

To honor the memory of her grandfather, 47-year-old trumpeter of the "Nord-Ost" orchestra Fyodor Kramtsov, his granddaughter Melissa came. She shared that she knows him from photographs and the memories of relatives.

"Mom loved him very much and told many funny stories. He was a family man. I never met him; I only know him from photographs and memories. My parents always say little about that evening to avoid crying," Melissa said, as reported by "Moscow Online" on October 26.

During the hostage-taking, her mother was near the theater and hoped until the last moment that her father was alive. "When the terrorist attack happened, mom spent the night outside almost at the doors. No one was allowed in. She cried and hoped until the last moment that her dad was alive," the girl recounted.

Galina Moreva lost her son, 39-year-old violinist of the "Nord-Ost" orchestra Igor Morev. She recalled how they studied music together.

"I could play a little on the piano, and we studied piano together. At six years old, we played four hands! He passed his exams, entered the Gnesin Music School, and became a violinist. He got married, and children were born to him," she said.

Igor and his wife were occasionally invited to perform. That evening, they were substituting for colleagues in the orchestra. According to Moreva, she had no premonitions before her son's performance.

"The only thing is, I couldn't sleep for a long time, and suddenly on the morning of October 26, something inside me felt empty, as if something had happened... I didn't understand why, as I didn't know what was happening at that moment. It seems to me that it was a signal – Igor would no longer be with me," she recalled.

90-year-old Viktor Polkovnikov, who came to the theater with a cane, spoke about the search for his deceased granddaughter. According to him, the family could not find the girl for three weeks.

"She died because of the gas... We called her: 'God's Gift.' We searched for three weeks, and she was not in any morgue. My daughter contacted the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. She said: 'I saw a girl being carried out who looked like yours.' She had written on her arm with a chemical glowing pen: 'We will not die,'" Polkovnikov said.

The chairman of the "Nord-Ost" organization Dmitry Milovidov spoke about the loss of his daughter.

"My daughter is still 14 years old. That says it all. It hurts everyone because these are people who still had everything ahead of them. But someone decided to barter their lives for their political ambitions," he stated.

According to Milovidov, the relatives of the deceased continue to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy. Recently, they appealed to the Investigative Committee demanding to clarify why, as he put it, "one law enforcement agency shifts all the blame for the deaths of the hostages onto another."

Former hostage Svetlana Gubareva shared that she bought three tickets to the musical – for herself, her daughter, and her American fiancé. Only she survived out of the three.

"The terrorists kept saying that they were not at war with foreigners. But it was scary. I was most afraid of the assault because I understood that there would be many casualties. Statistics are a harsh thing. 130 people died. But each of them was someone's closest, dearest, loved one. I caught myself thinking that I had already lived twice as long as my 13-year-old daughter," Gubareva said.

She described how the tragedy changed her life. "When something like this happens in life — it is unbearably painful. You are left with a broken trough. All plans, all life instantly turn into nothing," she said.

According to Gubareva, her desire to clarify the circumstances of the terrorist attack and find all those responsible helps her cope with her experiences.

"After all, someone organized this, financed it, organized the passages with this weapon. These people exist; they are still living now, but they are not being sought. The investigation was conducted haphazardly, and the resolutions were made carelessly with a lot of inaccuracies. I challenged them in court. I was told that the case is not yet closed and there is time to resolve these contradictions. But no one is dealing with it," she stated.

Let us remind you that earlier, the relatives of the victims of the terrorist attack in Dubrovka demanded answers from the authorities regarding what gas was used and by whose order during the assault on the building, and why a proper evacuation and medical assistance for the victims were not organized.

The authorities and security forces had reasons not to disclose the composition of the gas used during the assault, explained Sergey Militsky, a veteran of the special unit "Alpha" who participated in the hostage rescue operation, to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" earlier. "Such things are not disclosed by anyone anywhere," he emphasized.