Russia after Beslan: How Did Terrorist Attacks Affect Russian Domestic Policy?

In earlies 2000s, Russia witnessed a series of terrible terrorist incidents caused by the protracted campaign in Chechnya and the broader North Caucus region. Each terrorist attack in Russia, to one degree or another, turned out to be an impulse for political reforms or political decisions that were brewing earlier. In 1999, house bombings and the ensuing second Chechen war became a prologue to federal reform (2000). In 2002, after the capture of the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow, a project began to gradually transfer state control in the republic to local influential clans. In 2004, the largest political reforms in Russia's modern history followed Beslan: the abolition of governor elections, reform of the electoral system, tightening of “political” legislation: on parties, the media, rallies, extremism legislation, and control over NGOs. However, all these changes fit into the general context of the previously adopted political course - acts of terrorism only stimulate its more active implementation, become the reason for more decisive action. Experts note that "such radical political changes were prepared in advance and were waiting for the right moment to bring them to the political agenda". This “right” moment was the school attack in the Beslan in September 2004.