‘I will never forget it’: Putin names terrorist attacks as most difficult moments of his presidency

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said the deadly terrorist attacks in Beslan and Moscow which occurred during the early years of his presidency were the hardest moments for him to bear as the head of state.

During Thursday’s Q&A session in Moscow, reporters asked Putin what events affected him the most during his years in power. The president said that the “most difficult” moments for him personally were the two major terrorist attacks in Moscow and the city of Beslan in the North Ossetia region in southern Russia in the early 2000s.

“I will never forget it,” Putin said.

The first tragedy occurred in October 2002, when Chechen militants took 916 people hostage in the Dubrovka Theater Center in Moscow. The standoff lasted for nearly four days, after which 130 people died and others were freed, as SWAT teams stormed the building and killed all the militants.

In 2004 in Beslan, terrorists took more than 1,000 students and teachers hostage in a school during celebrations of the beginning of the school year. More than 330 of them died during a three-day siege. All of the terrorists were killed, except for one attacker who was captured alive and sentenced to life in prison.

When asked about the brightest moments, Putin preferred to talk about the most important achievements, among which he stressed growing incomes.

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