Official Version
The official investigation was conducted by the KGB, rather than the Moscow police. An initial suspect, named Potapov, was arrested in Tambov after setting off an explosive device which killed his neighbour's wife and two daughters. After being arrested, Potapov confessed that he was also behind the acts of terrorism in Moscow. However, this turned out to have been a forced confession, and after an investigation lasting one month, this false trail was dropped by KGB operatives.
In October 1977, alleged proof of Armenian involvement was received. At the Tashkent Airport, a KGB officer noticed a woman carrying a bag, similar to the one in the reconstructed picture of the explosive device sent out by the KGB to all local branches. It turned out that these bags were manufactured only in Yerevan. In November 1977 Stepan Zatikyan, a founding member of a splinter group of the National United Party, an underground Armenian nationalist organization, was arrested. His accomplices Zaven Bagdasaryan and Hakop Stepanyan were also taken into custody after an unsuccessful attempt to detonate an explosive device at the Kursky Rail Terminal in Moscow. A secret trial followed; Zatikyan, Stepanyan, and Bagdasaryan were all found guilty on January 24 and executed five days later. The Soviet press published only one article about the bombings, naming Zatikyan alone as the perpetrator. According to KGB general Philip Bobkov, any publications in Armenia were blocked by Karen Demirchyan, the head of Soviet Armenia.
Read more about this topic: 1977 Moscow Bombings
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