Bomb scares that have plagued Moscow and a dozen provincial Russian cities since last Sunday continued on Monday.
Since Sept. 10, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from public buildings across Russia in mass threats, which have led to confusion and copy-cat calls. The mass evacuations have cost authorities around 300 million rubles ($5.2 million) so far, the RBC outlet reports.
Some 600 people were forced to leave eight administrative buildings and a private office building in Moscow on Monday, Kommersant reported.
And police in the city of Vologda, about 465 kilometers northeast of Moscow, evacuated ten shopping malls and two movie theaters after anonymous phone calls began in the late afternoon, the regional outlet VologdaRegion.ru reported.
Authorities in the Chuvashia republic said that threatening robot calls were received at six shopping centers, four hotels, the city administration building and a district courthouse on Monday in the regional capital of Cheboksary.
Over the weekend, some 22,000 people were ordered to evacuate from shopping malls, movie theaters and clubs in St. Petersburg and other Russian towns.
Russia has been rocked by a series of small-scale attacks after a bomber detonated a homemade explosive in the St. Petersburg metro in April, killing 16 and wounding dozens.
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.
Remind me later.