RFE/RL's Moscow correspondent has written this piece for us about the reaction in Russia to the tragedy in Brussels:
Russian Officials Fault The West Over Brussels Blasts
MOSCOW -- The death toll was still mounting in the Brussels bombings when prominent Russian officials, lawmakers, and pro-Kremlin pundits began using the attack to criticize Europe.
Russians brought flowers to the Belgian Embassy in Moscow, and officials from President Vladimir Putin on down offered condolences over the attack. At the same time, senior officials and lawmakers undermined those signals of solidarity with a far less sympathetic message to the West: It's your own fault.
Prominent Putin allies in government, parliament, and punditry cast the attack as the result of what they claimed are the "double standards" in the Western governments' approach to Islamist militants. They accused the West of playing up a threat from Russia while ignoring what Putin says is the need to cooperate more closely with Moscow in combtting terrorism.
"While [NATO Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg...fights the imaginary 'Russian threat' and sends troops to Latvia, people are being blown up in Brussels right under his nose," Aleksei Pushkov, chairman of the international affairs committee in the State Duma, Russia's lower parliament house, wrote on Twitter.
In a separate tweet, Pushkov also offered condolences – but he added that "It's time for Europe to realize where the real threat comes from and join forces with Russia."
'Just Desserts'
Several prominent figures suggested Western countries were getting what they deserved for – in Russia's narrative – supporting "terrorists" when it suits their geopolitical interests.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova offered condolences as well, while in the same breath suggesting Europe has nobody to blame but itself.
"You can't support terrorists in one place and think that they won't come to you," Zakharova was quoted by Komsomolskaya Pravda as saying."You must not divide terrorists into good and bad, you must not support them in the Middle East and the North Caucasus and then think that they won't come to another part of the planet."
Putin has frequently accused the United States and other Western countries of lending support in the past to militants in Russia's North Caucasus, though Washington and other governments deny these claims. More recently, Western countries have supported some Syrian opposition groups that Moscow and its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, call terrorists.
Igor Korotchenko, a pro-Kremlin military journalist who appears regularly on state television, was quoted by a Kremlin pool journalist as saying: "Europe is paying for the double standards of its politicians. They didn't draw conclusions from the terrorist attacks in Paris."
Read the entire article here
Our multimedia department has compiled a gallery of some of the memes that have gone viral following the Brussels attacks:
#JeSuisBruxelles -- Powerful Social Media Memes Express Support For Victims Of Terrorist Attacks In Belgian Capital
In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed at least 34 people, social networks have been awash with powerful memes and images, paying tribute to the victims and expressing support for the traumatized city. Often using the #JeSuisBruxelles hashtag to show solidarity with those who died in the Belgian capital, many of the most popular social media posts made reference to the lowland country's tricolor flag of black, yellow, and red. Many memes also referred to cultural icons such as Tintin, the cartoon character created by the Belgian cartoonist Herge, and the Brussels' landmark sculpture Manneken Pis. Here's a selection of some of the most poignant tributes.
#JeSuisBruxelles -- Powerful Social Media Memes Express Support For Victims Of Terrorist Attacks In Belgian Capital
Belgium's King Philippe will address the nation tonight in a live broadcast.
Solidarity at Bourse square in Brussels.