2001 Vladimir Putin begins restructuring Russian intelligence com-
munity; he appoints many colleagues to senior positions in intelligence
and national security agencies.
2003 Chechen terrorists escalate terrorism against civilian targets;
civilian aircraft are bombed; Chechen terrorists seize theaters and
schools. FSB and police reaction eliminates terrorists at the cost of hun-
dreds of civilian lives lost.2004 Vladimir Putin is reelected president. Chechen war continues
with military and civilian casualties. 1 September: Chechen terrorists
seize a school in the town of Beslan in North Ossetia, taking more than
1,000 children hostage. Two days later, FSB and MVD units storm the
school, the terrorists commit suicide, and more than 350 hostages per-
ish, most of them children, while more than 700 children are seriously
injured. The security service and police are criticized for their handling
of the situation. 9 September: Statue of Feliks Dzerzhinsky, which had
been torn down on 21 August 1991, is placed back in front of Lubyanka,
the FSB headquarters. December: Spy Handler, the memoirs of KGB
counterintelligence office Viktor Cherkashin, is published, providing
new insight into the Ames and Hanssen cases.2005 8 March: FSB paramilitary unit kills Chechen nationalist leader
in a firefight in Tolstoi Yurt. April: Germany expels Russian diplomat
for espionage. May: British press publishes details of Russian espi-
onage in Great Britain.2006 Russian press publishes a series of stories on the involvement of
Russian Nongovernment Organizations with British intelligence. Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin announces in April that the FSB has been a greater
authority for counterintelligence and counterterrorism. Liberal reformers
claim Putin’s decision reduces the role of courts and new legal system.xxii •CHRONOLOGY06-313 (00) FM.qxd 7/27/06 7:53 AM Page xxii