St Petersburg has suffered a devastating attack after several explosions occurred on the city’s Metro. The explosions are said to have been near the centre of the line by Sennaya Ploschad and nearby Tekhnologichesky Institut stations. This has resulted in at least 10 confirmed deaths so far with 50 injured, the whole of the Metro has been shut down whilst an investigation is carried out and as a precaution in case of other attacks.
Vladimir Putin has said that he has spoken with the countries special service and has stated that they are investigating the incident, with all causes including terrorism on the agenda.
A brief analysis
One of the devices is said to have contained shrapnel and has caused devastation to the underground network, which is the 19th busiest in the world, transporting 2 million people a day. This is the first attack on the Russia’s underground system but in 2009 there was an attack on a high-speed train that was travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg, this killed 27 and injured 130 other people.
Whilst the world awaits the outcome of the investigation, people must be vigilant in jumping to conclusions about who the perpetrators are and what they represent. Whether this is a terrorist attack or just someone out to cause major destruction is yet to be seen. Society must also remember that whilst Russia is often an agitator in global terrorism, it also has been coming under increased scrutiny from anti-corruption protestors in the past few days.
Russian aggression
Whatever the outcomes are, Russia could use the attacks to clamp down on civil liberties. With known and rampant homophobia and laws recently passed to decriminalise domestic violence against women, Putin has usually pushed the limits of his Presidency.
Russia’s global intentisn’t yet known fully but with the invasion of Crimea and the movements of their navy have caused concern.
Plus, with the ongoing hostilities within the middle-east, Russia playing a key role in them, this attack could be used to either fuel further wars or clamp down on those who protest against the state.
