Yaroslavl Officials Appeal for Calm as Wave of Bomb Threats Force Evacuations

Paul Goble

            Staunton, November 12 – Since early September, calls warning that bombs have been planted in this or that facility have forced the evacuation of more than 1.5 million Russians in cities across the country. The Moscow media have not given this trend much attention except when it affects places in the capital like the Bolshoy.

            But in smaller cities, a wave of such telephone threats can’t be so easily ignored; and this weekend, such threats have become so numerous in  the city of Yaroslavl that officials there have been forced to urge people not to panic (regnum.ru/news/accidents/2344226.html, regnum.ru/news/accidents/2344223.html   and regnum.ru/news/accidents/2344222.html).

            Last night, the Yaroslavl oblast administration announced that they had received “from abroad 21 false anonymous reports about the placement of explosive substances” in the city and region.  All of the places were filled with people, and all of them were quickly evacuated with the police searching for possible bombs.

            Within a few hours, the administration said, more than half of the places where bombs were said to be have placed had been checked. No bombs were found and people were allowed to return. “The obvious goal of the organizers is the spreading of panic among the population and the disorganization of the governance of the city and these sites.”

            It said that the residents of the oblast “should not give way to panic” but rather “observe vigilance.”