Patrusev blames emergency services for hostage deaths in 2002 Dubrovka theater siege

Nikolai Patrusev, former FSB chief and current presidential aide, has blamed emergency rescue services for the deaths of hostages during the 2002 Dubrovka theater terrorist attack in Moscow. Speaking to Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Patrusev stated that while FSB special forces conducted the assault professionally, rescue personnel who entered the theater after the gunmen were eliminated became confused and failed to administer aid effectively. He argued that some hostages were given double doses of antidote while others received none, leading to casualties.

Patrusev, who headed the FSB at the time of the attack and oversaw the assault operation, claimed the rescue failure was preventable. He emphasized that the assault itself proceeded according to plan, noting that the militants failed to detonate any explosive devices during the operation. However, he acknowledged that medical personnel were not adequately informed about the use of gas during the assault, hampering their ability to provide proper treatment.

The Dubrovka theater siege resulted in the deaths of over 170 people, mostly hostages, when Chechen militants took approximately 850 people hostage in October 2002. In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights found Russia guilty of violating the hostages' right to life, ruling that doctors had not been properly warned about the gas used in the assault and therefore could not provide adequate medical care. The ECHR ordered Russia to pay over 1.2 million euros in compensation to 64 claimants and to conduct a new investigation into the causes of the deaths—an investigation that has never been completed. At the time of the siege, the emergency services were led by Sergey Shoygu, who later became defense minister before being dismissed in May 2024.