Brandishing a fake bomb, the criminal demanded a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Alexei Martynenko of the Volgograd Region held the Frolovo District police station hostage for about three hours while threatening to detonate a bomb. Mr Martynenko, who has a previous conviction for murder, demanded a meeting with Vladimir Putin as almost the entire regional security force was dispatched to retake the building. During negotiations with chief of regional police Alexander Kravchenko, Martynenko was eventually overpowered, and the bomb turned out to be a fake.
At about noon yesterday, 50-year-old Martynenko came to the police station requesting a meeting with the police chief. He entered the station unchallenged, carrying a little handbag. The police station consists of two buildings, and Mr Martynenko headed for the busier administrative section, where investigators, precinct policemen, and public security officials have their offices. He entered the office of the public security chief, showed him the wires protruding from his bag, and threatened to blow up the building unless his demand was met. The demand was to meet with Vladimir Putin, whom he wanted to brief on "outrageous corruption" in the region.
To minimize the consequences of a possible explosion, the visitor was led into the empty building adjacent to the administrative centre on the pretext that it was the only place with a secure telephone line which is connected to the White House in Moscow. In the meantime, a crisis centre had been hastily set up in Volgograd and OMON units and members of the regional FSB office were dispatched to the site. At a little past 2 p.m., the chief of the Volgograd regional police department, Alexander Kravchenko, arrived at Frolovo by helicopter. Mr Kravchenko together with the head of the district police then commenced negotiations with the would-be terrorist, according to Kommersant's information. Mr Matynenko's father was found and asked to take part in the negotiations.
While the negotiations were underway, the police station was sealed off, and residents were evacuated from neighbouring houses. There is no information on how the talks between General Kravchenko and Martynenko proceeded. According to Kommersant's sources, within half an hour, the policeman managed to persuade Alexei Martynenko to surrender. At a certain point, his attention was distracted and a plainclothes policeman snatched his bag. It turned out to contain a fake explosive device, and the wires were linked to "an object that looked like a smoke stick." Investigators began interrogating Martynenko yesterday.
Mr Martynenko is well known to the regional police. He has two convictions: for murder, and for fraud and car theft. He spent a total of 13 years behind bars and was released a few months ago. "Mr Martynenko has three children, is divorced, and after being released he looked for a job without success and apparently bore a grudge against some local officials," a participant in yesterday's operation suggested to Kommersant. "He refused to reveal to his interrogators yesterday what supposed corruption had prompted him to act in such a way."
By Rustam Gaifullin