Bomb Threat Hoaxes Prompt Evacuations of Thousands Across Russia
PHOTO: Evacuations in Moscow.
Over 15,000 people were evacuated across the Russian capital city of Moscow after a series of hoax bomb threats triggered emergency responses and prompted mandatory evacuations of dozens of locations.
According to a report; the suspects of the hoaxed terror plots, when they are found, will be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison. That's the law in Russia, where phone-terrorism and fake bomb threats are quite common and form wide-spread panic.
By now it's almost a 'natural thing' for Russians to do. When there's Russian authorities evacuating your building due to a bomb threat, you leave the building and let authorities determine whether or not it's safe to go back inside.
For tourists in Moscow, however, it's a complete other ball game. Whomever plotted this 'phone terror attack' on Moscow definitely was aware of the vulnerability and scare they can put into the hearts of foreign tourists, seeing as they targeted majorly famous and commonly passed-by tourist areas, like this shopping mall:
PHOTO: Evacuations at Russian shopping mall.
As you can see in the photo, at least a few hundred people are standing outside of an evacuated large shopping mall and Michael Kors store in Moscow. If you're used to this kind of stuff, it's not a big deal. For anybody else, they'd be freaking out.
See, the potential of dying of a terror attack is very real right now. Although terror attacks are down in comparison to the 20th century (1900's) it's only natural that, with today's media, the news travels way quicker every single time a small incident happens. It often times imposes fear into the hearts of foreign travelers, when really it shouldn't.
And Russia is no stranger to terror attacks - or at least, people being afraid of attacks in that country.
Recently, an explosion at a St. Petersburg supermarket was labelled a 'terror attack' by Russian president Vladimir Putin. According to reports of Russia's local media, the attack and bombing had left at least 10 people hospitalized of injuries. No one died.
During the holidays, a bus reportedly crashed down pedestrian stairs in downtown Moscow and struck numerous citizens. It was, at first, mistaken for an intentional attack and caused some nearby panic and fear as people moved away from the area. Police later confirmed the crash was a complete accident.
In Chechnya, terrorism is extremely common. With some of Russia's deadliest and most historically terrifying terror attacks taking place in the southern-Caucus most area of the giant nation of Russia; it's often avoided by terrorists.
Not too long ago, ISIS claimed responsibility for a terror attack bombing in the city of St Petersburg. According to reports, 15 people died (excluding the attacker) when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the name of the Islamic State in a metro station.
Back in 2015, a Russian-filled Metrojet airline passenger Airbus 321 was apparently bombed and downed in Egypt's Sinai province. At first, even after ISIS claimed responsibility for the 224 fatalities, Egypt and Russian officials remained skeptical of the extremely small explosive device. A while later, they admitted the group did it.
Decide for yourself - would you consider Russia currently safe for your travels?