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Wednesday, 15.08.2007
Attack on high speed train an act of mafia revenge?
Novgorod/Moscow. Investigations into the attack on the Nevski Express are making swift progress. One of the group is presumed to have been on board the train at the time. And a new line of investigation asks if it was an act of revenge from Novgorod’s criminal underworld.
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The driver and passengers of the derailed train immediately following the incident told of two explosions, but investigators have found only one explosive device, 1.5m in length and breadth.
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Probably the first blast passengers and drivers heard was caused by wheels locking after emergency brakes were triggered while the train was travelling at high speed.
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The investigation commission of Russian Railways (RZD) pointed out that 600m of the 800m of tracks torn up were in front of the crater left by the blast.
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Emergency brakes destroyed the tracks leading up to the bomb crater
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Train driver Alexei Fedotov told a newspaper that the first blast shook the train at a speed of 191 km/h, and immediately afterwards there was a second explosion. The emergency brakes came on, and his only thought was to avoid crashing off the 30m high bridge.
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Media reported that an accomplice of the bombers must have been on board the Nevski Express to pull the emergency brake. This was presumably intended to reduce the train’s speed before the explosion, which would then have detonated by remote control to derail the train off the bridge.
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But fortunately the express train’s momentum carried it over the bridge.
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Suspect with “Slavic appearance”
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Eyewitnesses described a man with Slavic appearance. Two identifit portraits have been released.
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Nevertheless, investigators first questioned representatives of the local Chechen-Ingushetian society Vainach. Salman Junussov said with regard to his questioning that it was ridiculous to look for Chechen involvement. “It is obvious that the same mafia groups the Novgorod authorities have been cracking down on mounted these attacks.”
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Recently the state prosecutor, Interior Ministry and secret service have been waging war on Novgorod’s criminal underworld. This campaign peaked last week when Novgorod’s governor Mikhail Prusak, who had failed to keep the local mafia in check, resigned.
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Nevski Express is a symbol of federal power and a means of transport for Putin’s staff”
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This theory alleges that the attack on the high speed nevski Express could have been an act of revenge and intimidation by Novgorod mafia groups.
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The Nevski Express is not just a symbol of modernisation, but also of Moscow federal power. The Nevski Express is one of the most important means of transport for Putin’s staff, who are currently clamping down on Novgorod’s mobsters.
(mig/.rufo/Moscow)
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