Putin: Bombing masterminds will be found

March 31, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

MOSCOW

Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday to “drag out of the sewer” the masterminds of the twin suicide bombing of the Moscow subway system that killed 39 people and left scores wounded.

The powerful prime minister spoke as Russia mourned the dead from Monday’s attacks; teary passengers lit candles and left carnations at both of the central stations that were hit.

The blasts shocked a country that had grown accustomed to such violence being confined to a restive southern corner — and marked the return of terrorism to the everyday lives of Muscovites after a six-year break.

As senior politicians call for the return of the death penalty, the attacks have raised fears that civil liberties again may be sacrificed under the pretext of fighting terrorism — a charge Putin faced during his eight-year presidency.

“I understand what authorities will do. They will resume persecution of opposition, there will be more censorship, political spying. There will be more riot police dispersing opposition rallies and protests. But it will not save us from terrorism,” prominent opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said in an editorial published by Grani.ru online magazine.

As president, Putin consolidated control in the wake of the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis by abolishing the election of regional governors, and he came to power in 1999 promising a strong crackdown on rebels in Russia’s North Caucasus.

Putin said on television Tuesday that he is sure the organizers of Monday’s attacks by two women will be found.

“We know that they are lying low, but it is already a matter of the pride of law-enforcement agencies to drag them out of the sewer and into broad daylight.”

Many have speculated that the blasts — blamed on Muslim extremists in the Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya — were retaliation for the recent killing of separatist leaders in the area by Russian police. No claims of responsibility have been made.

The city remained on edge Tuesday, even as people began to commute on the subway again.

The female suicide bombers detonated belts of explosives during the morning rush-hour at the stations, investigators said.

Five people remained in critical condition out of 71 hospitalized after the blasts, city health-department official Andrei Seltsovsky told the Rossiya-24 state news channel. Emergency officials said later Tuesday that five bodies remained unidentified.