People came before the doors opened
I just got up that morning and came
It's every citizen's duty
to help wounded people who need blood
I just followed the first link I saw and
I decided to support them
People's hearts beat in unison
You can't just stand aside at such a time
Only unity will help us in this struggle
It's a very tough one, very bitter, but there's no other way
Nothing can break us
We'll stay strong. We'll get through
CROCUS: STRENGTH THROUGH PAIN
March 22, 2024
[Aleksandr, Eyewitness, Crocus City Hall Tragedy]
[Aleksandr] Two minutes before the concert began, we heard popping,
explosions on the lower floors and bursts of gunfire
[Aleksandr] As we ran, we saw pools of blood, bloodstains
on the 1st floor
as I was running...
[Voice] A lot? [Aleksandr] Quite a lot
[Svetlana Petrenko, Head, Media Relations Department, Investigative Committee, Russian Federation]
[Svetlana] Today at Crocus City Hall,
Russia's Chief Investigators opened a criminal case under Article 205
of the Russian Federation Criminal Code. This is a terrorist act
AT LEAST 144 PEOPLE (INCLUDING 6 CHILDREN) WERE KILLED IN A TERRORIST ATTACK DURING A CONCERT BY THE 'PIKNIK' ROCK GROUP.
* As of the date of the documentary release
551 PEOPLE WERE INJURED. 9 CHILDREN WERE ORPHANED
[Vladimir Shapovalov, Political analyst, Board member, Russian Political Science Association]
[Shapovalov] This is one of the worst tragedies in our history,
one of the largest terrorist attacks
[Shapovalov] Only in the Beslan tragedy did more people die
[Vladimir Putin, President, Russian Federation]
[Putin] Citizens of Russia
March 23, 2024
[Putin] I offer my deepest
and most sincere condolences to all who have lost loved ones
[Putin] The whole country, all of our people, we grieve with you
[Putin] March 24
is declared a day of national mourning
[Shapovalov] As for the goals of this terrorist attack,
which was designed to inflict mass casualties,
it was intended to spread fear, intimidate, demoralise society,
and provoke chaos. Those goals were not achieved
[Shapovalov] We see the opposite effect
[Shapovalov] Society has united and demonstrated its natural values
[Shapovalov] For days now, people have carried flowers to that burnt-out building
[Shapovalov] We see absolute empathy,
absolute compassion among different parts of our society
[Shapovalov] People show empathy, compassion, and help strangers
We all live in the same country,
and we're each other's relatives, friends, acquaintances
[Eyewitness] My soul aches, my heart aches
[Eyewitness] How could I not say farewell to the people who died here?
[Eyewitness] My condolences to all who lost loved ones yesterday
[Eyewitness] I wish a speedy recovery to all who were injured
[Eyewitness] I want to share this pain, this loss
[Eyewitness] To help people. This grief is felt by the whole country, its people's grief
[Dmitry 'Kosmich' Saraev, Concert Promoter, Eyewitness, Crocus City Hall Tragedy]
[Saraev] I've been to this concert hall many times
[Saraev] It would have been a great concert
[Saraev] There was to be interesting ethnic musical instruments,
and, of course, a big symphony orchestra
[Saraev] I went in through that blighted Entrance 13
[Saraev] I took a couple of videos
for what I had thought would be a social media post or story
[Saraev] Tonight at Crocus City Hall, a concert by the band, 'Piknik'
with a symphony orchestra, and tomorrow too
[Saraev] And there's an orderly queue
of people going in with huge bouquets
[Saraev] And this is me!
[Saraev] No tickets are left at the box office. I have one!
[Saraev] It's totally sold out!
[Saraev] That was at 7:57pm
[Saraev] I recorded the second message at the same time, about 7:57pm
[Saraev] I had no time to send it because...
the first pops, gunshots had been heard
[Saraev] Single shots at first
[Saraev] Then, they started to fire in bursts
[Saraev] There was this opening,
a sort of niche,
and we started piling into it, like pouring fish into a barrel
[Eyewitness] We were in this section
[Eyewitness] Just here, right next to the window. There was a sort of glass pocket
[Eyewitness] Here, they smashed one window
[Eyewitness] Then, when he shot over the top, they broke the other glass
[Eyewitness] They fired methodically
[Eyewitness] [Eyewitness] No talking
[Eyewitness] No shouting
[Eyewitness] Just killing
[Saraev] We were trapped
and they took advantage...
and a few terrorists started shooting at us in that niche
[Saraev] Point-blank
[Eyewitness] We could do nothing. We just stood in that nook
[Eyewitness] And I realise that the people...
behind us, they shielded us
[Eyewitness] They gave us the chance to live
[Eyewitness] There was such a...
deep and terrible silence
[Eyewitness] All we heard were those gunshots, as if everything was in slow motion
[Saraev] I felt a sort of
very strong, blunt impact in the back
[Saraev] I immediately thought
'There. I'm dead'
[Saraev] And I thought
'This is how it feels...
to be killed'
[Svetlana Sheremet, Eyewitness, Crocus City Hall Tragedy]
[Svetlana Sheremet] Behind us a burst of automatic fire
[Svetlana Sheremet] And we thought...
Seryozha, my son, he's military and knew: 'Mum, it's guns'
[Svetlana Sheremet] People fell on other people, it was awful
[Svetlana Sheremet] A woman fell on me, I fell on my back
[Svetlana Sheremet] She shouted: 'Crawl!' I said, 'Where? I'm crushed!'
[Svetlana Sheremet] She said, 'Let's try to get up'
[Svetlana Sheremet] It's probably because we got up and ran to the exit,
we had dress circle seats, that all three of us lived
[Svetlana Sheremet] Me, my son and his wife
[Svetlana Sheremet] We just ran randomly,
wherever the crowd went, we followed
[Svetlana Sheremet] The money they refunded for the tickets, my kids donated to a fund
for the severely injured
[Svetlana Sheremet] We didn't take it either
People are shooting!
What's there, an exit?
[Oleg Ukolov, Eyewitness, Crocus City Hall Tragedy]
[Ukolov] Everyone tried to get away, those who could, helped each other
[Ukolov] Some broke out onto the roof, or tried to break down doors,
or took people away when shots were heard at the doors
[Ukolov] Everyone there was a hero
[Shapovalov] What's very important is that the heroes were children, who had
no experience of life,
who don't own any material possessions,
who worked in the cloakrooms and who saved hundreds of fellow citizens,
never seeing it as heroic
[Shapovalov] It's important because it shows that the oft-heard speculation
that there's something wrong with the next generation,
that it's not in line with our values and ideals...
[Shapovalov] That's all absolutely false, and not the case
[Shapovalov] We see how honest and honourable those kids were
[Shapovalov] They could have been the first to flee, and no one would have blamed them
[Aleksandr Zhurik, Employee, Crocus City Hall]
[Zhurik] I heard the first shot,
but didn't know what it was. A man waiting to check his jacket
asked what it was, I said I didn't know
[Zhurik] I had no idea
[Zhurik] A few moments later, I heard more shots and saw the crowd
rushing towards the staff area, to the door
[Zhurik] So many people
[Zhurik] I was pressed against the cloakroom counter
[Zhurik] I climbed over it and I saw
lots of people hiding on the floor behind the columns and counters
[Zhurik] Folk were sitting, lying down, or hiding in the cloakroom
[Zhurik] My colleague and I ran between these people,
telling them where to go, trying to help
[Zhurik] It was scary because I thought the terrorists would come down
[Zhurik] We were unprotected, with nowhere to hide or run to
[Zhurik] It was scary!
[Zhurik] I turned around, and saw there were still people about. I shouted:
[Zhurik] 'Follow me!' And people ran out with me
[Zhurik] We were many and we all did what we could to help
[Zhurik] Everyone, that way, that way! To the Exposition Hall!
[Islam Khalilov, Employee, Crocus City Hall]
[Khalilov] I shouted, telling everyone where to go and helping them
[Voice] You waited until... [Khalilov] Yes, I was behind them
[Voice] So you brought up the rear? [Khalilov] Yes, ensuring no one was left behind
Sergey, where are you?
[Zhurik] I was by the service entrance, where crowds were running from
[Zhurik] Next to it, there was another entrance that crowds were pouring out of
[Zhurik] I was shouting at them: 'Everyone, that way!'
[Zhurik] They ran in all directions, some went the wrong way. I stopped them
and told them where to go
[Irina Abramova, Eyewitness, Crocus City Hall Tragedy] It seemed a miracle that we survived. Now, I realise it...
wasn't a miracle. It was...
people who united and helped each other - by the grace of God!
[Voice 1] Down! Everybody get down! [Voice 2] Everyone down!
[Irina] Someone shouted: 'Get down!' And we just lay there in the aisle
[Irina] By 'we', I mean myself, my husband, and our 26-year-old son
[Irina] He's disabled. It was very difficult
[Irina] An incendiary device was thrown near us, and a fire started
[Irina] My husband said: 'We can't stay, we must get out'
[Irina] There was a small staircase. We crawled towards it and then up it!
[Irina] My son's legs refused to move because of fear and stress
[Irina] He was dragged into the lobby of the mezzanine and put on a bench
[Irina] I went to the parapet. It was made of transparent glass
[Irina] My voice is shaking, sorry!
[Irina] I looked down and saw some guards and corpses lying there
[Irina] There were pools of blood all over!
[Irina] And the gunfire continued
[Irina] Suddenly, a young man appeared
[Irina] I thought he was Muslim, because he said: 'God is One'
[Irina] He got hold of my son...
who's 26, 1.75 m tall
and heaved him up easily like a piece of rope,
and there he hung over his shoulders
[Irina] The man said: 'Follow me. Run this way!' I'm crying!
[Irina] We and all the crowd,
realising it might be a way out, ran after him
[Irina] We ran for 500 m and saw the outside, and an exit to the street
[Irina] It wasn't until this point that he finally put my son down
[Irina] We only had the time to ask him his name
[Irina] He said his name was Musa and that he had to go back
[Irina] I don't know, maybe he went to help someone else
[Irina] We hope he's alive and want to thank him
[Irina] It's thanks to people like him that society is decent
[Irina] The fellow had a small beard, was of medium height,
and he had large headphones on his head
[Irina] As he ran, he held on to them, apparently afraid of losing them
[Zaipulla] This is me, going to a gig
[Zaipulla Magomedov, Eyewitness, Crocus City Hall Tragedy]
[Zaipulla] It was clear the guy couldn't walk well. He could hardly stand up
[Zaipulla] I ran up... His dad was panicked, and trying to hold his son up
[Zaipulla] They tried to walk, but I knew we wouldn't get far
unless I took him
[Zaipulla] So I grabbed him, threw him over my shoulder and ran
[Zaipulla] I saw a way out through the smoke,
and we got out
[Zaipulla] He held my hand, asking for my name
[Zaipulla] I said: 'Zaipulla', but in the panic they just heard what they heard
[Voice] They heard 'Musa', right? [Zaipulla] Yes
[Zaipulla] He shouted after me: 'I'll pray for you!'
[Zaipulla] Then I went to the main exit, where there were more…
[Zaipulla] Well, there were many people trying to get out
[Zaipulla] There were... some other guys there,
and we did what we could to help people with their wounds
and whatever else
[Zaipulla] This went on, and then we noticed more people on the roof
[Zaipulla] I don't remember how many, maybe 8-12 people
[Zaipulla] One guy ran off to look for a ladder from a fire engine
[Zaipulla] He brought it back, and we cleared the way
[Zaipulla] We got them off the roof safely. There weren't any injured
[Saraev] Something clicked in my head
[Saraev] I thought: 'OK, Dima, you'll either make it or not'
[Saraev] I got to the street and ran a few dozen metres from the building
[Saraev] From the bridge, we can see that Crocus is on fire
[Saraev] Most likely, the terrorists set fire to the hall or something nearby
[Saraev] I got up in the morning, and nothing hurt. I didn't get enough sleep
[Saraev] I got to sleep rather late, around 3am
[Saraev] Naturally, I decided I should go to a hospital
[Saraev] They X-rayed me, and it became clear I had a bullet inside me
[Saraev] A great doctor operated on me and took the bullet out
[Saraev] It was a short operation - about 20 minutes maximum
[Farkhad Navzadi, Deputy Chief of Emergency Medicine, Head, Flagship Clinic, Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine]
[Navzadi] It was Friday. I was in the city centre, and a friend got the news first
[Navzadi] I realised that I had to go to work immediately
[Navzadi] Thank God it wasn't far. After less than 10 minutes,
those living nearby began to come in: orderlies and even cleaners,
municipal service and distribution centre workers
[Navzadi] So it wasn't just medical staff who showed up
[Navzadi] We were warned the first arrivals would have severe gunshot wounds
[Navzadi] Burn and smoke poisoning victims followed
[Navzadi] Most came by ambulance
[Navzadi] Quite a few came via helicopter
[Navzadi] 3 helicopters had to hover, waiting in line to unload
[Navzadi] The paramedics work closely with us, they're like friends and neighbours,
so we know most of them and work as links in a chain
[Navzadi] The 1st girl brought in had 3 wounds, some point-blank
[Navzadi] I can't imagine how they got her here, but she is now conscious, thank God
[Navzadi] Our hospital operates 'on wheels'
[Navzadi] We can easily take a patient from an ambulance
to emergency elevators that go right to operating rooms
[Navzadi] These cases are mainly heart, chest, and abdomen wounds
that require urgent surgery
THE SURVIVORS OF THE CROCUS CITY HALL TERRORIST ATTACK RECEIVED AID FROM 203 AMBULANCE AND AIR RESCUE CREWS; 19 MEDICAL ORGANISATIONS WERE INVOLVED. 145 PEOPLE WERE ADMITTED TO HOSPITALS
[Navzadi] We didn't know how many there'd be, we were just told to expect a lot
[Navzadi] We've taken the most
[Navzadi] All lived, and I hope it stays that way
[Aleksandr Sklyar, Taxi Driver]
[Sklyar] It was about 8:45pm
[Sklyar] There was a Ministry of Emergency Situations car, an ambulance,
and traffic police
[Sklyar] One man on an IV drip was put into my car
[Sklyar] The other's arm was bandaged
[Sklyar] He told me he'd been in such shock
that he didn't understand what was going on at all in the first minutes
[Sklyar] I brought them to a hospital,
handed them over to the medical staff, the doctors...
[Sklyar] And, as far as I know, they're alive
[Sklyar] Then, I came back and took people home
who'd been checked by doctors...
those who weren't really injured, but still in a state of shock
[Sklyar] They asked: 'How much will this cost?'
[Sklyar] I said: 'Nothing' because…
[Sklyar] Well, I'd be ashamed to take money from them
[Shapovalov] Almost 6,000 people were in that concert hall
[Shapovalov] This story also touched me personally
[Shapovalov] I have friends who were injured in that terrorist attack
[Shapovalov] It's probably the same for all the capital's residents and all Russians...
a huge number of victims
[Shapovalov] And, of course, this incident affects all of our country's residents personally
[Ekaterina Shevtsova, Employee, Association of Volunteer Centres]
[Ekaterina] I just wanted to sit down and cry
[Ekaterina] You sit, staring at the wall, and realise that...
the people who were there, completely innocent people,
will never see sunlight again, they'll never feel each other's love,
because we know so many stories linked to these tragedies
[Ekaterina] And you know it's still a part of you, part of your people and country...
[Ekaterina] Nothing can ever make up for this loss
[Dmitry Korinny, International-Class Rescuer, 'Tsentrospas' (Central Airmobile Rescue) Team, Ministry of Emergencies, Russian Federation]
[Korinny] We saw this giant queue running past us, where we have these tents
[Korinny] Many people walked by, expressing sympathy and solidarity
[Korinny] It's probably natural, that's probably how it should be
[Korinny] It was clear that the temperature in the hall was such that, unfortunately,
there could be no survivors there
[Korinny] It's probably very important
for relatives to find the body of their loved one,
to bury it, and to know where they lie
[Korinny] The guys who worked the day before
found several bodies in the expected place,
where the bulk of the shooting took place, in the hall
[Korinny] We didn't, or just couldn't, find anything in the middle of the hall
[Korinny] Unfortunately, there were very large metal structures blocking access,
and there was no quick way to remove them
without heavy equipment
A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 1,000 SPECIALISTS AND OVER 300 VEHICLES WERE INVOLVED IN THE RESPONSE OPERATION.
[Korinny] We're working on site, and there aren't many of us,
so any outside help is always needed and welcome
[Korinny] When there's a fire, bring a bottle or pack of water to the HQ,
and it'll be received with much gratitude
[Korinny] For us, volunteer support is very important
[Shapovalov] In Russia, volunteering isn't a trend, it's a reality
[Navzadi] Many people came in asking whether we needed nappies or something
[Navzadi] We said, 'We've got everything, but thanks for caring'
[Navzadi] One woman brought a box of tangerines for us to hand out
[Navzadi] People constantly came and asked, and then, on Saturday,
a queue formed with people wanting to donate blood
[Ekaterina] At 6:30am, we were at the blood donation point,
and there was already a very big queue, more than 500 metres long
[Aleksandr Ptitsyn, Employee, Association of Volunteer Centres]
[Ptitsyn] Our people are so responsive and united
that everyone came and waited in the rain
[Ptitsyn] There was one woman who came with two children
[Ptitsyn] They were literally 6 to 7 years old, in raincoats with umbrellas,
and they stood there for 4 hours
[Woman] I saw the news this morning, I saw a lot of people came to help
[Woman] Just to stand in line here is a form of support
[Volunteer] How about tea? It's hot
[Volunteer] Help yourselves to cookies
[Volunteer] Terrorism definitely has no nationality or religious aspects
[Volunteer] It's a terrible, terrible hate that we must all fight against
You must bring your physical passport and National Insurance card,
not copies or pictures
[Volunteer] Here's a reminder of what to do after donating
[Volunteer] Hot tea!
[Volunteer] Help yourself
[Olga Mayorova, Chief Physician, Gavrilov Blood Centre]
[Mayorova] A donor is an amazing person, because you share a piece of yourself
knowing you'll never know whom you've helped
[Mayorova] This ability to selflessly devote yourself to helping another
is what really distinguishes donors
[Mayorova] They're life savers and the hope of so many people
[Donor] It's impossible not to come because I'm healthy, strong, and alive
[Donor] I feel calmer now that I was able to help in some way
[Mayorova] Even the employees who've worked here more than 40 years
can't recall collecting so much blood
[Donor] These are live people, we have to help
[Irina Solomonova, Blood Donor, Restaurant Owner]
[Irina] Today, we came with the staff to donate blood at 8am,
as everyone knows this is a universal tragedy
[Irina] We gave blood and saw the huge line
[Irina] We quickly handed out blankets, let people in to warm up,
invited them over, distributed sandwiches, tea, and coffee
[Irina] Everything was absolutely free
[Irina] We have to help people since they're doing a very good deed
[Mayorova] On Saturday, we worked until the last donor, and that last donor left
at 12 midnight
[Zhurik] I was offered a million, but I consulted with my parents and friends,
and we realised that it would be better to send this money to the victims
[Ptitsyn] Our people are very sympathetic and always take these troubles personally,
understanding it could happen to them,
their relatives, friends, parents, or anyone
[Irina] Everyone banded together, and I think...
if our people weren't like that, there'd have been many more victims
POEM BY ANNA DOLGAREVA 'MORNING AFTERWARDS, TRAGEDY AGAIN'
[Poem] This is their way of infusing some love
[Poem] Sharing life with no superfluous sighing
[Poem] Russian people come to donate blood
[Poem] Life flows into life: drop by drop, bit by bit
[Poem] We rise up and endure one day at a time
[Poem] We are fuelled with a heavenly power
[Poem] We shall survive this cowardly crime,
[Poem] And move on, dear Lord, move on!
WE EXPRESS OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO ALL THE VICTIMS OF THE TERRORIST ATTACK AND THEIR RELATIVES