Assistant to the President of Russia Nikolay Patrushev blamed rescuers for the deaths of hostages during the terrorist act that took place in 2002 at the Dubrovka Theater Center in Moscow.
Medianews.az reports that in October 2002, an armed group led by Chechen Movsar Barayev stormed the Dubrovka Theater Center during a performance of the musical "Nord-Ost" and took more than 900 people hostage. Three days later, special forces of the Federal Security Service entered the theater building. During the operation, a sleeping gas was used. All terrorists in the building were killed. In addition, 130 hostages also died. It is reported that most of the hostages died due to the effects of the gas.
The Dubrovka tragedy, also known as the "Nord-Ost" tragedy, occurred when Nikolay Patrushev was the head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), and Sergey Shoigu was the Minister of Emergency Situations.
Medianews.az reports that on June 15, 2026, in an interview with "Rossiyskaya Gazeta," Assistant to the President of Russia Nikolay Patrushev stated that during the Dubrovka incident, FSB personnel carried out the operation professionally, but the problem arose in the subsequent phase.
According to Patrushev, after the terrorists were neutralized, urgent medical assistance should have been provided to the hostages. However, he noted that the rescuers who entered the auditorium, that is, the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, did not manage the situation properly: "Not all hostages were given an antidote. Some received a double dose of this drug. This caused the casualties."
In Patrushev's opinion, there might not have been deaths among the hostages because the operation was successful, and the terrorists were unable to detonate any explosive devices.
Sergey Shoigu left the post of Minister of Emergency Situations in May 2012. Until November of the same year, he served as governor of the Moscow region, and from November 2012 until May 2024, he held the post of Minister of Defense. Since May 12, 2024, he has been the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
After being removed from the post of Minister of Defense, criminal cases were opened against several generals who had been appointed as deputy ministers during Shoigu's tenure.
In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the right to life of the hostages during the "Nord-Ost" tragedy was violated. The court found that doctors had not been informed in advance about the gas used in the operation. Therefore, timely and professional medical assistance could not be provided to the victims. The court forced Russia to pay over 1.2 million euros in total compensation to 64 applicants and to conduct a new investigation into the incident. Although the compensation was paid, no investigation was carried out.