- Written by Steve Rosenberg
- russian editor
image source, Getty Images
Screens across Moscow showed images of burning candles and the Russian words “skorubim” (“we mourn”).
Moscow's New Arbat Street is lined with some of Russia's largest video screens.
Today, they all display the same giant image – a burning candle and the Russian word “Skorbim” (“We mourn”).
Russia mourns the victims of the Crocus Town Hall Massacre. The final death toll has not been released. The search for the body continues.
Russia's tricolor flag was flown at half-staff across the country, entertainment and sporting events were canceled and television newsreaders wore black.
It may not be in the center of Moscow, but Crocus Town Hall is one of Russia's most famous music venues.
But Friday's bloodshed turned the concert hall into an inferno. The attackers killed not only bullets, but also fire. They set fire to the building and created an inferno. A video released by Russia's Investigative Committee shows the roof collapsing. Also metal beams.
There is still a police line outside the building. From where I stand, I can see a burnt-out section of the entertainment complex. It is a hint of internal desolation.
People line up to lay flowers at a makeshift shrine commemorating the victims of the atrocity. The pile of compliments keeps getting bigger and bigger. In addition to leaving roses and carnations here, visitors also place dolls and stuffed animals on top of the flowers. There were children among the dead.
People are also leaving messages. One is addressed to the attacker.
“You're trash. We'll never forgive you.”
People leave flowers and teddy bears in memory of those killed at Moscow's Crocus Town Hall
There is a mixture of sadness and anger in the crowd here.
“The heart of this country is hurting,” said Tatiana, who brought flowers to be distributed here. “My soul is crying. Russia is crying too. So many young people were killed. I feel like my own children died.”
“It was a big shock,” Roman said. “I live nearby and I saw what happened from my window. It's horrifying and a huge tragedy.”
“Whoever did this, they are not human beings. They are our enemies,” pensioner Evgeny told me. “I think we should end the moratorium on the death penalty, at least when it comes to terrorists.”
The four suspects were charged with terrorism for their alleged involvement in the shooting incident and ordered to be detained for two months by Moscow's Basmany District Court.
On the Moscow court's official telegram channel, they were identified as Darelzhon Barotovich Mirzoev, Saidaklami Murodari Ratchabarizoda, Shamshiddin Fariduni and Muhammad Sobir Faizov.
Mirzoev, a Tajik national, reportedly pleaded guilty to all charges.
He claimed that Islamic State was behind the shooting incident at Crocus City Hall. He released graphic images of the rampaging attacker. U.S. officials said there was no reason to doubt the claim of responsibility.
BBC's Steve Rosenberg visits the scene of the attack
The reaction here was very different.
Russian officials are promoting the idea that Ukraine is somehow behind the brutal attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in a televised address on Saturday that he had captured four gunmen who were trying to flee to Ukraine. “There was a window prepared for them to cross the border on the Ukrainian side,” he claimed.
Kiev rejected such a proposal. That hasn't stopped pro-Kremlin commentators from insisting on links to Ukraine.
The pro-government newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets published a radical anti-Ukrainian editorial on its website. The article, titled “Ukraine should be declared a terrorist state,” said: “It's time to destroy the Kiev regime…all those gangsters must die. Russia has the resources to do this. We have come to the conclusion that there is.
An important question arises here. How will the Kremlin react to this devastating attack? Will the Russian leadership use what happened at Crocus City Hall to justify a possible further escalation of Russia's war in Ukraine?
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