On October 31, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow warned on its website of a possible terrorist attack at the Tsaritsyno museum and park complex. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed that it had received a warning from the United States, after which the complex closed “for technical reasons.” No attack occurred. The following day, the FSB said it had detained a teenager who was the source of the information about a planned attack. This is not the first time the United States has shared information with Russian authorities about potential terrorist attacks in Russia. Here are three of the most widely publicized cases.
December 2017: The FSB said it had detained seven members of the Islamic State group who, the agency alleged, were planning to bomb Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Two days later, the Kremlin said the CIA had provided information that helped prevent the planned attack. Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump to thank him and the U.S. intelligence agency for the information. Those detained in the case later received fines and prison sentences.
December 2019: The Kremlin said Putin had called Trump to thank him for information from U.S. intelligence agencies that helped prevent terrorist attacks in Russia. A few hours later, the FSB said it had detained two Russian nationals who intended to carry out a terrorist attack in St. Petersburg over the New Year holidays. The agency alleged that they were members of the Islamic State group. In 2021, one was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony; no sentence for the other defendant was publicly reported.
March 2024: Early in the month, the U.S. Embassy issued a warning about possible terrorist attacks in Moscow within the next two days. No attack occurred during that period, which Putin used to dismiss the warnings as “provocative statements.” Less than two weeks later, a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall killed 150 people. The FSB soon acknowledged that U.S. intelligence agencies had in fact warned Moscow about an attack but said the information was “of a general nature.” Sources cited by Western media maintained that the information was much more specific — in particular, that Crocus had been named as a potential target.
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