Because I’m Paranoid

There was a terrorist attack in Russia today (3 April 2017). Details are scant right now, but it looks like at least 10 people were killed in a subway explosion in St. Petersburg.

The head of Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the blast hit the train between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations.

The committee said an explosive device was later found and made safe at another station, Ploshchad Vosstaniya.

President Vladimir Putin said all causes, including terrorism, were being investigated.

The entire system has been shut down, according to BBC, and this is the first attack ever on the St. Petersburg metro.

My heart aches for the people who died and their families, and I can’t imagine the horror of those who were in the vicinity!

But there is a paranoid part of me that wonders if this hasn’t been perpetrated by their own government as a false flag operation! Yes, I hate the phrase “false flag.” Anytime a tragedy strikes in the United States, the conspiritards don their tin foil accoutrements and go on tirades about evil government engaging in “false flag” operations to misguide and draw attention away from whatever evil things said evil government does. Believe me, I’m not unaware of how it sounds.

That said, I’m also not unaware of just how cunning the current Russian leadership is. In 1999 a blast destroyed a nine-story Moscow apartment building, killing dozens of people. The Russian government investigated the explosion as a terrorist act and claimed it was linked to Russia’s war with Islamic separatists. However, several journalists, witnesses, and the late Alexander Litvinenko (several of whom – coincidentally, I’m sure – have died under mysterious circumstances), claimed the tragedy was actually a false flag operation by the FSB (link is in Russian) to drum up popular support for a war with Chechnya, bolster the popularity of then-Prime Minister Putin, and eventually propel him to the presidency.

Given the anti-corruption protests taking place in Russia, and the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalnyy and more than 40 others, and Navalnyy’s increasingly resonating anti-corruption message, nothing would surprise me.

Again, I realize how it sounds, but when it comes to the current Russian leadership, nothing surprises me.

My most heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in today’s blast. Regardless of who is responsible, it’s an awful tragedy.

Filed under: corruption, Elsewhere, terrorism 

Tagged: explosion, Metro, Russia, St. Petersburg, subway, terrorism