Crocus Hall: Ukraine's GUR/SBU Are Allowed to Execute an Incompetent Operation and Russian Civilians, at once
... as the failing narrative control matrix spasms in a dying rage
Published: 2024-03-26
Updated 2024-03-27: Added the Pepe Escobar reference.
Updated 2024-03-28: Added video report, via Martyanov, about the two ‘not a hero’ teenagers who helped hundreds to evacuate. If you are interested in all of the details of what happened in the attack on March 22th, read Helmer’s piece. He provides both crime scene forensics, as known then, “get away” details and some internal Russian political responses.
Updated 2024-04-01: More data.
March 7th/8th: Warning and Preparation
On March 7th the US embassy in Moscow issued a travel advisory for US citizens in Russia "Security Alert: Avoid Large Gatherings over the Next 48 Hours":
The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.
To date of this publication, the author is unaware of any statement by any US government representative that the US government provided to the Russian government any specific details which formed the basis for their Moscow Embassy’s Security Alert.
Also on March 7th, one of the four members of the team of hired, partially Tajik, terrorists now in Russia custody, who committed the murders of over 133+ Russian citizens, was photographed at the site of the terrorist attack, Crocus Hall.
A concert by Shaman, a very popular young Russia musical artist was performed at Crocus Hall on March 8th. A large contingent of police were deployed to the event. This may have forced the terrorists to reconsider and delay their paid operation.
March 22nd: Operation & Heroism
A fortnight after the Shaman concert, on the evening of March 22nd, another slightly less popular Russian/Soviet band, Piknik, were scheduled to perform at the venue. At 8pm [20:00] local time the terrorists' murder spree began, using automatic weapons. In our age of ubiquitous mobile phones, evidence of what occurred is voluminous in photographic, audio and audio/video form.
While the half paid, mercenary, foreign murderers executed their crimes (murder, terrorism, starting a fire, property damaged etc.) many acts of bravery were also captured and have also been recorded in testimony. These heroic acts have been collected into appropriate coverage to be included in Russia's national broadcaster’s programming to sit with the condolences offered worldwide to the grieving families of the victims.
One action was by an attendee, moving beyond shock and into action, as he stood close to one of the attackers. He grabbed the barrel of the murderer’s gun to lower it to protect himself and others. He then began punching the vile coward with his other hand until moments later another attendee came to his aid and they, at least temporarily, disabled the attacker providing valuable time for others to escape.
A teenager who worked as an attendant in the Hall's cloak room, as the clock ticked 8 and the attack began, and knowing of the passage from the Hall into a neighbouring exhibition building, unblocked the passage. He then called to attendees, during the attack, ushering them to safety.
Another teenager, who may also have been an employee, opened emergency exit doors and also called to attendees to indicate to them a safe method of escape.
In a harrowing scene, a small group are huddled behind stone blocks next to a thick glass exterior wall of what appears the foyer. While the mobile phone videographer switches back and forth between the foyer with the sounds of the attack and the glass wall, other members of the group use whatever they have at hand to smash it. The translation shows one person asking their mother to make her way to safety with the rest of the group following closely behind.
Hundreds of people were rescued by brave Russian citizens. Many will no doubt receive honor for their actions. Those actions will hopefully also assist those who have been traumatized, or are in morning or both.
When one strips away politics and nationality, one recognizes a universal humanity. This is what good and brave people do, everywhere, in the face of injustice and evil.
The four criminal terrorists attempted to make their escape from the crime scene after their killing spree and having set the upper floors of the building alight.
Narrative and Operational Idiocy
As they were being followed by Russian security, in the same conspicuous car which they had used to travel to the Hall, US officials and pundits and their media issued gratuitous public statements. These methods of brainwashing were an obvious attempt to construct a narrative, to place suggestions in the minds of those who read or heard the reports issued by the MSM (or Official Imperial Echo Chamber -- OIEC -- pronounced 'oik', just short of 'oink').
Within 55 minutes of news of the terrorist attack being announced in English language world news services, Admiral Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, informed the world that he knew something about the attack. He knew enough to be able to "disabuse" people of the idea that Ukraine or Ukrainians had any involvement.
Other pundits began to name a culprit "organization", ISIS-K. Many informed analysts believe that ISIS-K is a Western intelligence conglomerate ("CI-6", CIA+MI-6) label for various only partially controlled radical actors; an offshoot or variant of ISIS. Members of ISIS itself were paid, trained and armed by the CIA and other CI-6 organizations during the Syrian dirty war during Operation Timbre Sycamore. The "K" variant, reported Alastair Crooke, was cooked up by the CI-6 blob when Saudi support for the regime change operation in Syria wore thin. This “K” thing seems to be buried in the internecine relations between CI-6 and their Turkish counterpart; a partially Turkick terrorist group to counter the Kurdish PKK which Türkiye has labelled a terrorist organisation and CI-6 love to use to further their underhanded political operations in regions from central to southwest Asia.
Russian security services reportedly shot the tires of the limited intelligence terrorists’ "get away" vehicle in a forested setting in Bryansk oblast. Bryansk is 350 Km from Moscow, meaning that it will have taken the terrorist mercenaries at least 3 hours, probably closer to 5, to reach this location. This, in turn, implies that Kirby’s “tell” occurred before it would have been possible for the Russian security services to have apprehended the criminals.
[Annotation of a graphic from Helmer’s article. It shows the intersetion east of Bryansk City where the attackers chose to continue south. To reach Belarus they had to turn right (West) at the E-101 and P-120 junction. They chose to drive on southwards which leads to Ukraine. They were 100 Km from the border when apprehended, wrote Helmer.]
The wooded setting was apparently chosen by the security services to minimize the likelihood of further killing of civilians and to also make it more difficult for the, at this point suspects, to escape capture. One must assume that the Russian security services had overhead surveillance (helicopters, drones etc.) to ensure the capture. One should also note that the suspects were not killed, but captured. What they knew about the organisation of the terrorist attack was far more valuable than their lives. This may bring to mind a comparison with the US security person who was brandishing a weapon at Aaron Bushnell as he self-immolated and an first-responder was yelling at him to get a fire extinguisher.
One of the 'suspects' gave himself up, confessed and provided details some of payment and contact (half the funds, or USD 5400 paid to a credit card, contact over Telegram). The other three fled to no avail. 7 others have also been taken into custody by Russian security services since the murder spree. One should expect that contacts further out are being identified and potentially visited by members of the Russian security services. A colossal "tagging" operation must be under way,that one expects will reach well into other CSTO (Russian international security organization) and SCO (Chinese and Russian international security organisation and BRI implementation mechanism) members states’ intelligence services.
During Russian Federation President Putin's first public address, to the nation after the shocking crimes, he described the criminals as having fled towards to Ukrainian border (Bryansk border's Belarus, a Russian ally, and Ukraine), and that preliminary information indicated that a "window" in the border had been opened for them to cross into Ukraine.
It should be plainly obvious that, at this time, Russia's surveillance of the Russian-Ukrainian border must be at an all time high. Secondarily it seems obvious that, given the gravity of the matter, the President had to provide both reliable and reassuring information to the Russian people. While the OIEC like to flag the President as a former member of the KGB, that which they omit, and people tend to forget, is that his role was as a trained lawyer.
In his address he took on two roles, that of President and that of lead public prosecutor, delivering reassurance and as many known specifics from law enforcement and the security services as were tactically sensible. While Putin is delivering his speech, the security services were following every possible lead to find out who paid, encouraged or facilitated the criminal, terrorist mercenaries.
As of publishing, 2 or the 4 remanded men have confessed to their involvement in the terrorism. This puts the other two men in the same car in such extreme legal jeopardy as to be almost certainly convicted.
One can expect that an understanding of who paid the terrorists will become known to Russian intelligence. Tajikistan is a member of the SCO. Failure to cooperate in the investigation would be politically suicidal. Whether the paymasters are publicly revealed is a different matter.
Connections and Inferences
The Crocus Hall terrorist attack occurred after Russia had already escalated its attacks on Ukraine. Russia's armed services already had the upper hand, and Russia's executive through Putin's leadership had just achieved a monumental vote of confidence from the electorate. Russia has no need to 'fabricate' the allegation of a Ukrainian border opening, designed to be timed with the returning terrorists.
Thus, this information points the finger directly at Ukraine for at least facilitating, if not organizing and/or funding this latest terrorist attack on Russia. Ukraine has the means, motive, opportunity and form. Evidence gathered by Russia's security services points directly at them.
In turn, due to CI-6's close relationship with Ukraine's GUR & SBU one can assume that an operation of this gravity is likely to have been known to sections of CI-6 located in Ukraine. Whether this information was "released" upwards is a different matter, entirely. Given that the operation was so poorly executed and so inflammatory it would seem wise for any CI-6 operatives who knew about this to keep it entirely to a very close circle, so as to provide plausible deniability to their "leadership".
While some may claim that Russia's security services or political leadership allowed this to happen as a subtle false-flag event, they will need evidence for this. That evidence must show significant strategic advantage obtained through allowing the attack to occur. The accusation flies in the face of the loyal, patriotic and professional character which the security services have display before, during and following the crime. What has been revealed is a failure on their part to protect Russian citizenry, which one can expect that they will feel keenly. They deserve criticism, particularly in light of the US Embassy warning. While their abilities are not infinite, this is a tragic failing on their part.
There is no evidence to suggest that the US provided any additional information, other than the Embassy Alert. This makes sense given the "plausible deniability" hypothesis suggested above. The US Embassy issued the warning as instructed. Neither they, nor anyone else outside of the small group of intelligence operatives in Ukraine knew the specifics.
The US administration's spokesman Kirby, and other MICCIMATT aligned pundits' attempt to swing the narrative away from Ukraine and towards a loose grouping with a Western applied name "ISIS-K" is standard operating procedure. It will have had some effect in the short term. It will ultimately fail, as further evidence is produced in Russia's courts and then advertised by Russia at international institutions like the UN.
Larry Johnson has already stated his informed opinion, based on the data he has learned and his experience working within the CIA:
I think that there was some [CI-6] planning and support to it. Because right now what we're seeing, and in my view its coming from intelligence sources, both the CIA and MI-6; they're planting stories out there about 'ISIS-K' people. ... They're trying to shift the narrative. ... Now, ISIS is becoming a convenient propaganda tool.
Larry, along with other commentators, have already acknowledged three contradictory facts to the "ISIS-whoever" narrative.
The terrorists were paid. They are mercenaries, not religious zealots.
They ran away, instead of martyring themselves.
They ran this operation in the holy month of Ramadan.
Assigning speculative blame to Muslim fundamentalists might tickle the fancies of the storytellers or other racist or religiously bigoted individuals, but it is pure BS.
The imperial spin-meisters care not that their efforts will only have a short term effect and that they will be exposed as liars. Short term is as far as they think, or care about. To those who already understand how this operation works, Kirby's attempted misdirection away from Ukraine was a direct tell. He may think that people observing the US regime's public figures are as stupid as he is. He is wrong.
The same is true of the shyster spin-meisters. The calm and curious became immediately suspicious. The allegations were noted, and perhaps the names of the manipulators. The exposure will almost certainly come, as it has before, and they can be added to the list of immoral, grifting, liars gorging from the MICCIMATT trough.
That they prostitute themselves to such evil for money speaks of their character. The generous may feel some pity for them.
One of the reasons the generous may offer that pity, is that these people are plain stupid. Two quasi-plausible motives for this terrorist attack are that this may somehow, finally, magically generate some politician opposition in Russia, or that Russia, against all previous carefully managed behaviour would suddenly throw caution to the wind and give the West some wildly heinous crime to flood their subservient media with for weeks.
Neither of these potential motives will be realised. The Russians aren't as stupid as these people either. There is no tactical advantage on offer, however supposedly clever. These people are stupid and evil, which is why that pity may be both warranted and difficult to generate.
May I be so bold as to suggest we just leave it to the writers of history and/or these evil klutz' makers to judge them. Let’s just keep our antennae tuned and mark this down as yet another case of the consolidation into the dustbin of history of this late stage Western empire.
It is clutching at straws trying to flex its decaying muscles in its paroxysms of impotent, incompetent rage.
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Sources
Security Alert: Avoid Large Gatherings over the Next 48 Hours, US Embassy in Moscow, US Government, 2024-03-07 [archive.org version, in case they get embarrassed and change it]
Address to citizens of Russia, Russian Federation President Putin, Kremlin 2024-03-23 15:30 local time
The evidence on the crocus gang attack in moscow, John Helmer, Dances with Bears, 2024-03-27
RT: Investigators establish link between Moscow terrorist attack suspects and Ukrainian nationalists, RT, Natylie's Place: Understanding Russia, 2024-03-31
The Nuland – Budanov – Tajik – Crocus Connection, Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2024-03-26
Russia. Is. At. War., YesXorNo, 2024-03-23
Russia Goes Medieval on Alleged Takij Terrorists with More Circumstantial Evidence Pointing to Ukraine and Western, Larry Johnson, A Son of the New American Revolution, 2024-03-24
Dmitry Trenin: The American explanation for the Moscow terror attack doesn’t add up, Dmitry Trenin, RT, 2024-03-25
See also the “Crocus City Hall” sub-section of Week in Review: 2024 week 12 for further references:
Week in Review: 2024, week 12, YesXorNo, 2024-03-25
Ray McGovern： What Happened in Moscow?, Napolitano interviews McGovern, Judging Freedom, 2024-03-25
Larry Johnson： Was MI-6 or CIA Behind Moscow Terror, Napolitano interviews Johnson, Judging Freedom, 2024-03-25
Alastair Crooke: Is Europe Preparing for War?, Napolitano interviews Crooke, Judging Freedom, 2024-03-25
Terrorist photographed at Crocus on March 7. 'Unprovoked' narrative at risk. Elensky video in bunker, Alex Christoforou, 2024-03-24
A Strange Case Of... [... actual reporting by Associated Press.], Andrei Martyanov, Reminiscence of the Future ..., 2024-03-27
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