Ten years ago, on October 23, 2002, Chechen militants seized the Dubrovka theater in Moscow, taking some 900 people hostage. On October 26, Russian security forces launched a full-scale assault in which all the armed radicals and 130 hostages died. Most of the victims were killed by a narcotic gas pumped into the theater to subdue the hostage-takers. These photos show how the crisis unfolded over four agonizing days.
Four Days At Dubrovka
![Russian police stand outside the Dubrovka theater in Moscow after Chechen extremists stormed the building and took between 900 and 1,000 people hostage on the evening of October 23, 2002. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/2413ae10-a368-4ea6-9442-c609fc09d605_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Russian police stand outside the Dubrovka theater in Moscow after Chechen extremists stormed the building and took between 900 and 1,000 people hostage on the evening of October 23, 2002.
![Representatives of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) wave a white flag in an effort to gain access to the hostages on the morning of October 24.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1b2dd3e1-3398-4504-9a46-9e9ab3069dc3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Representatives of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) wave a white flag in an effort to gain access to the hostages on the morning of October 24.
![Doctors remove a victim who had been shot by the militants.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c9afbe2a-010c-4c9f-9079-e3e4ac80f2d7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Doctors remove a victim who had been shot by the militants.
![Reporters gather at the police cordon to wait for news from inside the theater.](https://gdb.rferl.org/3c2fc7ef-3cd2-4c15-a4b6-af6bdba4df9a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Reporters gather at the police cordon to wait for news from inside the theater.
![Hostage Maria Shkolnikova leaves the theater with a letter in which the hostages urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet the militants' demands and withdraw Russian troops from Chechnya.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b4dc50b8-d2c0-40a0-8e17-72f80afd532e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Hostage Maria Shkolnikova leaves the theater with a letter in which the hostages urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet the militants' demands and withdraw Russian troops from Chechnya.
![People gathered outside volunteer to take the place of the hostages.](https://gdb.rferl.org/95970f8b-d72e-4bc5-affb-72d4873ccf54_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People gathered outside volunteer to take the place of the hostages.
![Special task forces gather nearby on October 25.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2c42615e-3424-4d2b-ba74-cf6ab0519ae9_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Special task forces gather nearby on October 25.
![Representatives of the Red Cross gain access to the theater on October 25.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ec79cbb8-53d2-4110-8c73-d072770af57b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Representatives of the Red Cross gain access to the theater on October 25.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/403cc271-e500-4905-bc7d-13f2b30ef508_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![Security officers keep the area cordoned off.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0445f836-9e81-4189-a165-367050377d7c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Security officers keep the area cordoned off.
![On October 26, the fourth day of the hostage crisis, special forces stormed the theater. Here, doctors help a hostage wounded in the raid.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2e68e55d-4146-4ec8-9e73-3e9f5a21c70b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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On October 26, the fourth day of the hostage crisis, special forces stormed the theater. Here, doctors help a hostage wounded in the raid.
![Troops carry out hostages, many of whom were badly affected by the gas pumped into the theater to subdue the militants.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b95cc22c-97fa-4711-b55f-db84f8ac32af_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Troops carry out hostages, many of whom were badly affected by the gas pumped into the theater to subdue the militants.
![The main explosive device planted by the militants, all of whom were killed in the raid](https://gdb.rferl.org/43f138e4-7e40-4e62-9063-4ffb481c6457_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The main explosive device planted by the militants, all of whom were killed in the raid