The History Bureau

Who bombed the four apartment buildings? The reporters who covered this story look back with over 25 years of distance to answer a one question: who do they think bombed those four apartment buildings back in September 1999?  Was it the Chechen militants the government blamed? Or ...  Show more

In September 1999, just weeks after a 46-year-old Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia, killing hundreds of people while they slept. The attacks plunged the country into panic. Families fled their homes. Residents patroll ...  Show more

Four bombs. Twelve days. Hundreds dead. What really happened in Russia in September 1999? Helena speaks to BBC foreign correspondent Andrew Harding to revisit a story that has haunted him for decades. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Harding takes us inside a world of ...  Show more

Three sacks of white powder discovered in a basement – and a ticking timer set for dawn. As fear grips the country and families sleep on the streets, a strange discovery in the city of Ryazan sparks a chain of events that challenges everything people thought they knew about the b ...  Show more

What if the truth behind the bombs could be revealed - on a television show? Following the events at Ryazan, journalists at Russia’s major television channel NTV prepare for a primetime broadcast: a confrontation between the residents of the building where the sacks of powder wer ...  Show more

Two men challenging the FSB’s story flee to London seeking safety, only to end up dead. Years after the apartment bombings shook Russia a press conference is held in London, led by exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Once a kingmaker who helped propel Putin to power, Berezovsky now ...  Show more