History Daily – Saturday Matinee: The History Bureau, Episode 1: "Putin and the Apartment Bombs"

Date: January 17, 2026
Host: Helena Merriman (History Bureau, BBC)
Featured Commentators: Andrew Harding (BBC foreign correspondent), Guest commentators, Russian and international journalists

Brief Overview

This Saturday Matinee episode of History Daily introduces the first season of the BBC's new series, The History Bureau, with Helena Merriman. The episode delves into the 1999 Russian apartment bombings—four devastating attacks that killed over 300 people. The narrative revisits these events, exploring how the bombings set the stage for Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, the climate of fear in Russia, and the unresolved, deeply contested theories about what actually happened—and who was responsible.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power and Purpose of Fear

• Narrator opens with reflections on how violence and manufactured fear have historically been tools for politicians to seize and retain power (01:07).
  • "If you need to truly distract the public, give them something to fear. If you want to be hailed as a hero, defeat an enemy of your own creation.“ (01:12)
• The 1999 bombings plunged Russia into panic and justified Russia's renewed war in Chechnya, with Putin as the principal beneficiary.

The Four Bombs: Timeline and Impact

• Helena Merriman sets the stage for the History Bureau’s investigation:
  • Four apartment blocks destroyed, hundreds killed, a nation traumatized.
  • The bombings are described as a formative national trauma and a pivotal moment in Russia’s modern history (05:31, 07:10).
• Vivid descriptions of both the explosions and their aftermath highlight the physical and psychological impact:
  • "The explosives create a shock wave... for a brief moment, there's just silence. Then you hear it—a blast so loud it can rupture eardrums." (05:31)
• Survivors, first responders, and journalists recount the confusion and terror as the events unfolded.
  • "The entire country felt under siege." – Guest Commentator (07:10)
  • "There were people screaming, just utterly traumatized." – Andrew Harding (07:12)

Unraveling Theories and Dangerous Questions

• Competing theories persist about responsibility, with an atmosphere of secrecy, censorship, and danger surrounding continued investigation.
  • "A lot of what we should know has been classified or buried or covered up." (08:11)
  • "But there's one thing they do agree on: asking questions about this story even now, can be dangerous." – Helena Merriman (08:47)
• Journalists and investigators who probed too closely paid with their lives.
  • "We know their names, the people who've been killed. They all investigated the bombings and that message has reached the Russian public as well." (09:05)

Russia’s Turbulent 1990s: Economic Collapse and Political Upheaval

• Andrew Harding describes his arrival in Moscow in 1991 and the surreal transition from Soviet control to chaotic, ‘wild west’ capitalism (12:34–16:24).
  • The narrative covers Yeltsin’s economic 'shock therapy,' galloping inflation, lost savings, and the birth of the oligarchs (14:42–16:24).
  • "The old people, the pensioners, started to come out of their apartments and sell everything they had on the icy, snowy streets of Moscow." – Andrew Harding (15:17)
• Rising poverty contrasts with the fast-accumulating wealth and power of the new business elite.

Yeltsin’s Decline and the Search for a New Protector

• By the late 1990s, Yeltsin’s rule is marked by scandal, poor health, and public discontent (17:03–18:32).
  • The political vacuum intensifies the jockeying for a successor who will safeguard the oligarchs’ fortunes.

The Bombings—Unfolding Catastrophe

• Chronology of attacks:
  • 1st bomb: Buynaksk, near Chechnya, kills 64. Initial reaction: distant, barely shifts public attention (18:32–20:47).
  • 2nd bomb: Moscow, 94 dead. Suddenly, the panic and media spotlight are national (21:20–25:27).
  • 3rd bomb: Moscow again, dead of night, death toll surges (31:11–32:03).
  • 4th bomb: Volgodonsk, southern Russia. Nowhere feels safe (33:25–33:56).
• Social reaction: Russians begin patrolling apartment blocks; sleep is lost to terror and suspicion.
  • "There was a sense that this is going to carry on, that we're all at risk now." – Andrew Harding (32:03)

The Chechen War and Convenient Villains

• Context on the First Chechen War, Chechnya’s pursuit of independence, and the emergence of terrorism and kidnapping as brutal tactics (26:39–30:53).

  • "Chechnya was overrun by warlords armed to the teeth, just bristling with weapons." – Andrew Harding (28:20)

• The Russian government and public instinctively blame Chechen militants.

  • "It was almost instinctive for people because they were the ones who Russia had been at war with." – Andrew Harding (26:31)

Putin Steps Forward

• As bombings escalate, the new, little-known Prime Minister Vladimir Putin steps into the vacuum and promises vengeance (32:23–33:09).
  • "He says he'll go after the rabid animals who did this." – Helena Merriman (33:13)

The Fifth Bomb and Enduring Mysteries

• Fifth bomb found unexploded in an apartment block. Discovery leads not to Chechen militants, but to the FSB (Russia’s security service, formerly the KGB) (34:17–35:22).
  • Raises persistent suspicions: Was the terror a pretext manufactured by the state to cement power?
  • "If it's true, it changes what Russia's sense of itself is. It changes everything if it's true." – Andrew Harding (35:22)
• Mainstream Western journalism mostly missed or dismissed the story at the time.
  • "I think we should have done, we should have covered it more and we didn't..." – Andrew Harding (35:53)
• Some journalists and investigators who pursued the story died in pursuit of the truth (09:05, 09:21).

The Difficulty of Believing the Unbelievable

• The episode closes by exploring how the most sinister, extraordinary explanations are often the hardest to accept, even for seasoned reporters and diplomats (36:30).
  • "The problem is a problem of imagination. It's so evil, so horrible... You have to believe the unbelievable. Once you understand that the impossible is really possible, everything makes perfect sense." – Guest Commentator (36:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you want to be hailed as a hero, defeat an enemy of your own creation." – Narrator (01:12)
• "The entire country felt under siege." – Guest Commentator (07:10)
• "A lot of what we should know has been classified or buried or covered up." – Guest Commentator (08:11)
• "We know their names, the people who've been killed. They all investigated the bombings and that message has reached the Russian public as well." – Guest Commentator (09:05)
• "These were gangs essentially competing for power. The stakes were incredibly high." – Andrew Harding (18:15)
• "Chechnya was overrun by warlords, armed to the teeth... just bristling with weapons." – Andrew Harding (28:20)
• "If it's true, it changes what Russia's sense of itself is. It changes everything if it's true." – Andrew Harding (35:22)
• "The problem is a problem of imagination. It's so evil, so horrible... Once you understand that the impossible is really possible, everything makes perfect sense." – Guest Commentator (36:30–37:02)

Segment Timestamps

• 01:07 – Introduction to the theme: violence, fear, and political power
• 05:31 – The start of The History Bureau: setting up the four bombings
• 12:18 – 16:24 – Andrew Harding on 1990s Russia and its transformation
• 18:32 – 20:47 – First bombing (Buynaksk): impact and initial public attention
• 21:20 – 25:27 – Second bombing (Moscow): media spotlight and rising fear
• 26:39 – 30:53 – Background: war with Chechnya and rise of radicalization
• 31:11 – 33:56 – Third and fourth bombs; deepening panic; Putin emerges
• 34:17 – 36:09 – The mysterious fifth bomb and evolving theories
• 36:30 – 37:02 – Reflection: confronting "the unbelievable" in Russian political history

Episode Tone & Storytelling

The episode blends vivid scene-setting, personal recollections, and probing investigation. The presenters maintain a sober, tense mood, matching the historical gravity and enduring controversy of the bombings. The series promises to revisit the accepted narrative, pursue uncomfortable questions, and examine the lingering shadow these attacks cast over Russia and the world’s understanding of its recent past.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in modern Russian history, journalism under authoritarian regimes, or the mechanisms of state power and public fear.