Support The Moscow Times!

'Kill Them All,' Ex-Russian President Medvedev Says of Concert Hall Gunmen

Dmitry Medvedev. Valery Sharifulin / TASS

Russia’s former president and current senior security official Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that the perpetrators behind the deadly Moscow concert hall attack “will be killed,” as calls among officials to restore the death penalty grow.

“Should we kill them? We should. And we will,” Medvedev wrote on the messaging app Telegram the day after four suspects were placed in pre-trial detention by a Moscow court.

At least 137 people were killed and 182 others were wounded when four men opened fire and set ablaze Crocus City Hall, a popular venue northwest of central Moscow, on Friday evening.

The Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest inside Russia in the past two decades.

Medvedev, who has emerged as one of Russia’s most vitriolic pro-war hawks following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, claimed “it’s more important to kill everyone involved” in the Crocus City Hall attack than just the four suspects being held in custody.

“All of them: those who paid, those who sympathized [and] those who helped,” said Medvedev, who serves at the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council.

“Kill them all,” he said. 

Medvedev is among a growing number of top Russian officials calling for the lifting of a three-decade moratorium on capital punishment.

Critics have warned of unforeseen consequences given Russia’s broad use of counter-terrorism and anti-extremism laws that have ensnared anti-war figures from different walks of life. 

Authorities in 2023 opened a record number of terrorism cases, while the so-called “international LGBT movement” and the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s network had been designated as extremists.

In an English-language post on X (formerly Twitter) Sunday, Medvedev vowed to “avenge each and every” victim of the Crocus City Hall attack.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more