Russia is holding a day of mourning for the victims of Friday’s concert hall terrorist attack in Moscow Region, one of the deadliest in the country’s modern history. Entertainment events and shows have been canceled in the capital and several other cities.
In a televised address to the nation on Saturday, President Vladimir Putin declared that Sunday would be a national day of commemoration for those who lost their lives in the atrocity.
Flags are flying at half-mast nationwide and at Russian embassies abroad, and Russian TV broadcasters have taken entertainment shows off air for the day, with theaters and other venues also observing the somber occasion.
People have been gathering outside Crocus City Hall, where an improvised memorial has appeared. Since the tragedy, mourners have brought flowers, stuffed toys and candles to honor those killed by the terrorists.
Similar makeshift installations have appeared in multiple cities across Russia, from St. Petersburg in the northwest to Vladivostok in the Far East.
People have been placing flowers outside Russian embassies in a number of countries, such as the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Armenia. Memorials have also appeared outside Russian diplomatic missions in Berlin, Istanbul, Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo.
According to the latest official tally, the terrorists, who opened fire on panicked concertgoers before torching the packed venue just outside the capital, killed at least 137 people, and left more than 120 injured.
On Saturday, Russia’s FSB domestic security service reported that it had detained 11 suspects in connection with the massacre. The four presumed perpetrators were intercepted in Bryansk Region, not far from the Ukrainian border.