The 1977 Moscow bombings were a series of three
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
bombings in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on 8 January 1977. The attacks killed seven people and seriously injured 37 others. No one claimed responsibility for the bombings, although three members of an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
organization were
executed early in 1979 after a
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
investigation and a secret trial. Some
Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union in the period from the mid-1960s until t ...
said that the suspects had an
alibi.
Soon after the event
Andrei Sakharov issued a public appeal, expressing concern that the bombings might "be a new provocation on the part of the organs of repression". According to historian
Jay Bergman, "who actually caused the explosion has never been determined conclusively".
Bombings
On 8 January 1977, three
bombs were
detonate
Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with s ...
d in Moscow.
The first exploded at 17:33 on a crowded train between the
Izmailovskaya and
Pervomaiskaya stations of the
Moscow Metro.
At 18:05, the second bomb detonated inside a
grocery store
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
close to
KGB headquarters. Five minutes later, the third bomb exploded near another grocery store on 25 October Street, just a few hundred meters away from the headquarters of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
.
At that moment, and for the next two months, there was little public information about the explosions. The TASS news agency reported on 10 January 1977 that the explosion was not of great force, "medical help was given to those suffering injury, and an investigation is being conducted". Later, at meetings of Party activists, it was said that not long before the explosion in the underground on 8 January there had been two other explosions on 25 October Street.
Only on 8 February 1979, after the trial and
execution of the three
convicted men, did a letter to ''
Izvestia'', the official newspaper of the
Soviet government, indicate that the attacks had killed seven people
and injured 37.
Investigation and trial
An initial suspect, named Potapov, was arrested in
Tambov after setting off a bomb which killed his neighbour's wife and two daughters. After being arrested, Potapov confessed that he was also behind the acts of terrorism in Moscow. However, this turned out to have been a
forced confession, and after an investigation lasting one month, this lead was dropped by KGB operatives.
In October 1977, at
Tashkent Airport
Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport ( uz, Islom Karimov Toshkent Xalqaro Aeroporti) is the main international airport of Uzbekistan and the 3rd busiest airport in Central Asia (after Almaty International Airport and Astana Internationa ...
, a KGB officer noticed a woman carrying a bag similar to a reconstructed picture of a bomb sent by the KGB to all local branches.
It was discovered that these bags were manufactured only in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
.
In November 1977,
Stepan Zatikyan
Stepan Seghbosi Zatikyan (Eastern Armenian: Ստեփան Սեղբոսի Զատիկյան; June 20, 1946 - January, 1979) was a Soviet dissident and one of the founders of the Armenian NUP (National United Party).
Early life
Zatikyan was born ...
, a founding member of a splinter group of the
National United Party, an underground Armenian nationalist organization, was arrested. His
accomplice
Under the English common law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller ...
s, Zaven Bagdasaryan and Hakop Stepanyan, were also taken into custody
after an unsuccessful attempt to detonate a bomb at the
Kursky Rail Terminal
Kursky railway terminal (russian: Ку́рский вокза́л, ''Kursky vokzal''), also known as Moscow Kurskaya railway station (russian: Москва́-Ку́рская, ''Moskva-Kurskaya''), is one of the ten railway terminals in Moscow. I ...
in Moscow.
A
secret trial
A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public or generally reported in the news, especially any in-trial proceedings. Generally, no official record of the case or the judge's verdict is made available. Often there is no indictment.
...
followed. Zatikyan, Stepanyan, and Bagdasaryan were all found guilty on 24 January 1978 and executed five days later.
The Supreme Court issued a brief statement, dated 31 January 1979, after the trial and execution, naming Zatikyan alone as the perpetrator.
According to KGB general
Philip Bobkov
Filipp Denisovich Bobkov (russian: Фили́пп Дени́сович Бобко́в; 1 December 1925 – 17 June 2019) was a Soviet and Russian KGB functionary, who worked as the chief of the KGB subunit responsible for repressing dissent (Fift ...
, any publications in Armenia about the bombings were blocked by
Karen Demirchyan
Karen Serobi Demirchyan ( hy, Կարեն Սերոբի Դեմիրճյան; 17 April 1932 – 27 October 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian politician. He served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia from 1974 to 1988. Soon after ...
, the head of Soviet Armenia.
Alleged KGB involvement
The 8 January 1977 bombings occurred during systematic reprisals by the Soviet authorities against the Helsinki Groups in Moscow,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, set up to monitor the USSR's observance of the
Helsinki Accords
The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, between ...
.
On 10 January 1977, Soviet journalist
Victor Louis
Victor Louis (10 May 1731, Paris – 2 July 1800, Paris) was a French architect, disqualified on a technicality from winning the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1755.
Life
He was born Louis-Nicolas Louis in Paris. He did not adopt the name Vic ...
(Vitaly Yevgenyevich Lui), a well known KGB
agent provocateur, published an article in a British newspaper, hinting at the involvement of Soviet dissidents in the bombings. Several
dissidents, including Vladimir Albrekht, the secretary of the Soviet branch of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, were threatened and
interrogated by the KGB. (Soviet dissident
Alexander Tarasov
Alexander Nikolaevich Tarasov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Тара́сов; born March 8, 1958) is a Soviet and Russian left-wing sociologist, politologist, culturologist, publicist, writer, and philosopher. ...
claimed to have been interrogated by a KGB investigator who tried to "convince" him that he was involved in the bombing. Without his strong alibi - he was confined at a hospital at the time of the bombings - "it would be me who was executed instead of Zatikyan", he said.) In response
Andrei Sakharov wrote an "Appeal to world community", in which he requested an impartial investigation and suggested that the bombings might have been arranged by the KGB itself to discredit the entire
Soviet dissident movement
Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union in the period from the mid-1960s until t ...
.
… I cannot rid myself of the hunch that the explosion in the Moscow underground and the tragic deaths of individuals are a new provocation on the part of the organs of repression, and the most dangerous of recent years. Precisely this hunch, and the fears connected with it that this provocation could lead to changes in the whole internal climate of the country, have prompted me to write this article. I would be very glad if my thoughts turned out to be wrong …
In an exchange with the deputy
Procurator General, he added, "I have serious grounds for concern. This is the provocation article in ''
London Evening News
The ''London Evening News'' was a newspaper whose first issue was published on 14 August 1855.
Usually, when people mention the ''London Evening News'', they are actually referring to '' The Evening News'', published in London from 1881 to 1980, ...
'' by Victor Lui. These are arrests and interrogations of people who are clearly not related to the bombings. These are murders of last months, probably committed by the KGB which were not investigated. It is enough to mention only two of them: murder of poet Konstantin Bogatyrev and murder of lawyer Evgeni Brunov." After this statement, Sakharov was not only attacked in Soviet newspapers but also received threats by phone. Several people tried to break into his apartment, claiming to be relatives of those killed in the Metro.
According to former KGB colonel
Oleg Gordievsky, the three
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
were selected as
scapegoat
In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
s for this terrorist act. He wrote, "The case that most alarmed the KGB was the bombing of the Moscow subway by Armenian separatists in 1977. Three Armenians were later shot. It was rumored in the Center that, when the KGB and militia failed to track down those responsible, three other Armenian separatists had been selected as scapegoats in order to demonstrate that terrorists would always be caught and punished."
In 1982, historians
Michel Heller
Michel Heller (Михаил Яковлевич Геллер, 1922–1997) was a Russian historian.
Mikhail Y. Geller (August 31, 1922, Mogilev, Belorussian SSR, January 3, 1997, Paris, France) - historian, journalist, writer, critic and dissident ...
and
Alexander Nekrich assert Zatikyan, Stepanyan, and Bagdasaryan had an alibi supported by multiple witnesses, and their execution was the first political execution in the Soviet Union after the death of
Stalin.
[ M. Heller and A. Nekrich, ''History of Russia 1917–1995''; seven volumes; London, 1982,]
Russian text online
Quote (Russian): "армянские националисты были приговорены к смертной казни закрытым судом и несмотря на то, что алиби обвиняемых было подтверждено многими свидетелями." (Armenian nationalists had been sentenced to death in a closed trial, and despite the fact that the alibi of the accused has been confirmed by many witnesses)
The Armenian
dissident Sergei Grigoryants
Sergei Ivanovich Grigoryants (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Григорья́нц, uk, Сергі́й Іва́нович Григорья́нц, 12 May 1941 – 14 March 2023) was a Soviet dissident and political prisoner, journa ...
said in 2016 that KGB chief
Yuri Andropov
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (– 9 February 1984) was the sixth paramount leader of the Soviet Union and the fourth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year rule, Andropov served in the po ...
and
Philipp Bobkov
Filipp Denisovich Bobkov (russian: Фили́пп Дени́сович Бобко́в; 1 December 1925 – 17 June 2019) was a Soviet and Russian KGB functionary, who worked as the chief of the KGB subunit responsible for repressing dissent (Fi ...
were responsible for the bombings.
Sakharov's letter to Brezhnev
On 30 January 1979, A. D. Sakharov wrote a letter to L. I. Brezhnev, about the trial of the three Armenian suspects:
There are strong grounds for fearing that a deliberate frame-up or a judicial mistake is taking place in this case. Zatikyan was not in Moscow at the time of the underground explosion — many witnesses can confirm his alibi. The investigation did not show any interest in clarifying this or other important circumstances. The trial, totally unnecessarily, was closed and secret, and even relatives did not know that it was taking place. Such a trial, in which the principle of openness is totally disregarded, cannot determine the truth.
I appeal to you to stop the death sentence being carried out on all the accused in this case, and to demand a new inquiry from the investigative and court organs.
On 1 February 1979, the
Moscow Helsinki Group made an official statement on the execution of
Stepan Zatikyan
Stepan Seghbosi Zatikyan (Eastern Armenian: Ստեփան Սեղբոսի Զատիկյան; June 20, 1946 - January, 1979) was a Soviet dissident and one of the founders of the Armenian NUP (National United Party).
Early life
Zatikyan was born ...
and two other unnamed individuals, stating, "The lack of transparency and the whole atmosphere of secrecy give reasons to doubt the validity of charges, objectivity and impartiality of the court".
One consequence was the 8 February 1979 letter to Izvestia, denouncing Sakharov and other rights activists as "Defenders of Murderers".
''Chronicle of Current Events'', 52.1, "The case of the explosions on the underground" (1 March 1979)
See also
* Russian apartment bombings
* February 2004 Moscow Metro bombing
* August 2004 Moscow Metro bombing
* 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
The 2010 Moscow Metro bombings were suicide bombings carried out by two Islamic female terrorists during the morning rush hour of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro ( Lubyanka and Park Kultury), with roughly 40 minutes in betw ...
* List of attacks by ASALA
*
* Armenian parliament shooting
The 1999 Armenian parliament shooting, commonly known in Armenia as October 27 (Հոկտեմբերի 27, ''Hoktemberi k’sanyot’''), was a terrorist attack on the Armenian National Assembly in the capital of Yerevan on 27 October 1999 by a gr ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscow bombings, 1977
1977 in international relations
Bombings
1977 murders in Europe
1970s trials
20th-century mass murder in Russia
Attacks on buildings and structures in 1977
1977 bombings
Attacks on shops in Europe
Building bombings in Russia
1977 bombings
Improvised explosive device bombings in 1977
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
January 1977 crimes
January 1977 events in Europe
Mass murder in 1977
1977 bombings
Murder trials
Soviet show trials
False flag operations
Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1977
Terrorist incidents in the Soviet Union in the 1970s
Terrorist incidents on underground rapid transit systems
Train bombings in Europe
1970s murders in Russia
1977 murders in the Soviet Union
Terrorist attacks attributed to Armenian militant groups