Terry Michael Duncan (1966 – October 3, 1993) was an American citizen who was killed by pro-Yeltsin troops during the
1993 Russian constitutional crisis
The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, also known as the 1993 October Coup, Black October, the Shooting of the White House or Ukaz 1400, was a political stand-off and a constitutional crisis between the Russian president Boris Yeltsin and t ...
.
[Quiet American](_blank)
by A. Bratersky, for Izvestia, October 2005 (in Russian)
Born in the U.S. state of
Georgia, Duncan went to
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
for undergrad and earned his law degree from
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Alongside
Jamison Firestone, Duncan moved to
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 ...
to establish the law firm Firestone Duncan & Associates, which employed Russian accountant and auditor
Sergey Magnitsky
Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (russian: Сергeй Леонидович Магнитский, ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Ukrainian-born Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian gover ...
.
Duncan was killed on October 3, 1993 near TV center
Ostankino by a gunshot to the head, when parliamentary forces attempted to storm the TV premises. He had gone to the TV center with demonstrators and couldn't easily leave the area.
One after another, he rescued wounded people from the zone of gunfire and returned again under bullets,
demonstrating extraordinary heroism. According to Russian sources, he has rescued 12 people. A friend of him said, "He was always a risky person, and took care of those in hard situations."
The last person who Duncan attempted to save was an injured photo reporter of the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
newspaper, Otto Pohl, but a sniper from the TV center building shot Duncan in the head (according to a different source, Duncan was killed by "a casual bullet"
).
After the shooting his body was carried away by soldiers of a special unit from the TV center building to Argunovskaya street. There are several eyewitnesses to the shooting, as well as video and photographic footage. He was survived by his father, mother and his younger brother.
Firestone Duncan
The name of the law firm that Duncan founded alongside his business partner
Jamison Firestone, "
Firestone Duncan", resurfaced in the news after the death of its auditor Sergey Magnitsky in 2009.
References
External links
Short biography(in Russian)
"We remember..."entry on Terry Duncan (in Russian)
by Laura Blumenfeld, Washington Post, October 21, 1993
Clinton relays message from Russia to grieving parents The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution, May 15, 1994
In the Stream of History: Shaping Foreign Policy for a New Eraby Warren Christopher, 1998, page 99
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Terry Michael
1993 in Russia
20th-century American lawyers
1966 births
1993 deaths
Deaths by firearm in Russia