Medvedev's statements on the Moscow metro blasts – full version

Russia will continue fighting against terrorism “unhesitatingly and till the end,” President Dmitry Medvedev said at an extraordinary meeting in the Kremlin.

Russian President also demanded tightened security across the country after the early Monday morning blasts in the Moscow subway and pledged government assistance to the families of those who died or were injured in the explosions.

Full text:

"Prevention of such terrorist acts is a complicated thing, just like maintaining security on public transport. That’s what the latest experience teaches us. We need to considerably step up all the measures and to reconsider this problem on the scale of the state – not for a particular type of public transport of for a particular town but for the whole country. Obviously, measures that have been practiced up to now have proven to be insufficient.

Now back to the matter. Of course the first thing to do is to help people and provide support to the families of victims, those who died and, naturally, those who are injured and receiving treatment now –
we need to provide all the required assistance both on the regional and governmental level.

Today, the government is going to hold a meeting upon my order to discuss this problem in detail. I have issued an order for the government to do this.

Now on the general situation. We need to be on the guard. It is obvious that such acts, regretfully, are always well planned and aim to cause massive casualties and to unsettle the stability in the country and society. Therefore the police and security forces need to run relevant consultations and informative sessions, and to keep the situation under strict control – while certainly observing the citizen’s rights and freedoms – to keep the situation under strict control and, in case of need, to intervene and make on-site decisions to ensure the efficiency of control.

This is a well-known practice both in our country and in the world. Sadly, it’s far from the first time such a thing happens to us. Therefore there should be a very precise and detailed approach to dealing with such situations.

The Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee should continue gathering evidence and carry out thorough investigation, naturally, without disrupting traffic in the metro. Traffic should
resume as soon as the investigative procedures are over so that the city is not affected.

Proposed versions should be given most careful consideration. Evidently, this is the continuation of terrorist activities, and I believe this will be the key version of the investigation. I would like you to keep track of it and report to me.

And the last thing I'd like to say: the policy against terror in our country will continue. We will continue operations against terrorists till the end, with no hesitation. I would like all heads of special services and law enforcement agencies present here to follow the same principle – till the end and with no hesitation.

In a while, we will hold a meeting on specific consequences, but now I suggest going to our workplaces and getting down to our everyday work."