St Petersburg attack
Wednesday 5 April 2017
UNIVERSITY of Salford academic and tourism expert Dr Neil Robinson reacts to the bombings in St Petersburg, which left 14 people dead.
He said: “The terrible events in St Petersburg clearly show the vulnerability faced by society on a daily basis when living with terrorism. The blast that has claimed 14 lives, perpetrated by an alleged suicide bomber, will have security services on high alert all around the globe. The recent events in Westminster and this atrocity on the underground metro system in St Petersburg will have ramifications on a global scale.
“While the identity of the alleged bomber has yet to be fully corroborated, one theory is that the individual might have returned from Syria fighting as a pro Isis combatant or a possible Chechen sympathiser seeking revenge on Russia military intervention in the region some years ago. Either way stricter security measures will be in place in and around the Russian federation in attempt to prevent similar atrocities from happening again.
“While President Putin has tried to show a strong united front against terrorism, Russian involvement in previous military campaigns including Syria and Chechnya show the vulnerability of the once, all powerful state in keeping order on its home soil. The future will tell whether Russian military foreign policy has been successful in reducing terrorism at home or whether it has further fanned the fires of anti-Russian sentiments.”
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Sam Wood
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