Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye Hostage Crisis

The Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis, known in Russia as the terrorist act in Kizlyar (Террористический акт в Кизляре) was a guerrilla raid conducted by Chechen separatists in January 1996 during the First Chechen War. It soon turned into a massive hostage crisis involving thousands of civilians.

The crisis culminated in a days-long battle for the Dagestani border village of Pervomayskoye, resulting in the village (population about 1,200), being completely destroyed by the Russian bombardment, with none of the residents killed. The rebels escaped with some of their hostages including captured servicemen. 41 civilians of Kizlyar, 37 Russian servicemen, and 90 Chechen fighters died during the crisis.

Read more about Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye Hostage Crisis:  Kizlyar Airbase Raid, Kizlyar Hospital Hostage Crisis, Siege of Pervomayskoye, Rebel Breakout, Related Hostage Crises, Casualties, Aftermath

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    Neither dead nor alive, the hostage is suspended by an incalculable outcome. It is not his destiny that awaits for him, nor his own death, but anonymous chance, which can only seem to him something absolutely arbitrary.... He is in a state of radical emergency, of virtual extermination.
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