GROZNY, 10 May 2004 — A massive explosion shattered a day of celebrations in Chechnya yesterday, reportedly claiming at least 32 lives including that of pro-Russian President Akhmad Kadyrov, turning Victory Day festivities to tragedy.
Sitting in the top row of a parade tribune, Kadyrov slumped forward, apparently conscious, but with blood gushing from his head.
Amid screams from the crowd, bodyguards moved immediately to surround the president, who was attending the festivities marking the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany flanked by General Valeri Baranov, the chief of staff of federal forces in Chechnya, and Chechen Ineur Alou Alkhanov.
A well-known singer, Tamara Dadacheva, who was performing on stage at the time, lost a leg in the blast.
Seized by panic, Chechen and Russian soldiers began firing their weapons in the air over the crowd, injuring at least one young man, a witness said.
Several Jeeps raced to the tribune to rush the president to hospital. Witnesses saw him apparently trying to wipe his forehead.
For several hours, conflicting reports swirled in Grozny and Moscow over the fate of Kadyrov and Baranov with no official confirmation that either had died, until finally President Vladimir Putin himself confirmed Kadryov’s death. Baranov reportedly suffered serious injuries.
Speculation over how the attack was carried out also ran rampant. Witnesses said they saw a woman who may have been a suicide bomber, like many other Chechen women who have blown themselves up in several recent attacks in Chechnya and Moscow.
Interior Ministry officials said that the recently built tribune had been thoroughly combed several times for explosives, and the device was apparently planted in a concrete block — directly under the VIP area — during the construction of the tribune.
The blast hit the top row, where Kadyrov was seated along with top officials, World War II veterans and performing artists.
Two unexploded bombs were found in the stadium after the attack, officials said.
