 Grief and shock in Moscow |
Memorial services have been held in Moscow to honour those killed in the suicide bombings at a rock concert on Saturday. The attacks killed at least 15 people, including two women suicide bombers, and wounded more than 50.
Several of the injured are still fighting for their lives.
Forensic teams are combing through the debris but the Russian authorities have already blamed hard core Chechen rebel groups.
President Vladimir Putin, who on Friday set 5 October as the date for a presidential election in Chechnya, has vowed that he will not be thrown off course by such acts of violence.
However, he has postponed two overseas visits in the wake of the attacks, according to a statement from the Kremlin. Mr Putin had been due to travel to Uzbekistan on Sunday and Malaysia on Tuesday.
Rebel view
The main separatist movement, led by Aslan Maskhadov, has said it played no part in the attacks, but correspondents say the separatists are deeply split and only a few are believed to follow Mr Maskhadov's orders.
 It's sad that the Chechens are forced to violence to make their tragedy heard by the international community  |
Mr Maskhadov's movement moved quickly to condemn "all acts of terrorism, regardless of who may perpetrate them".
But their statement continued: "We note, however, that the roots of the suicide attacks lie in the Kremlin's genocidal policies in Chechnya and in the international community's unwillingness to challenge them."
The BBC's Nikolai Gorshkov says some Russian politicians believe unless the Kremlin starts talks with the rebels and prosecutes those responsible for human rights abuses in Chechnya, Moscow and other Russian cities will never be safe.
Doctors have warned that the number killed could rise further as several patients remain in a critical condition with severe burns and wounds.
Both explosives were packed with screws and nails intended to cause maximum damage.
The Krylya (wings) festival held in north-western Moscow was packed with a crowd of about 40,000 when the bombs went off fifteen minutes apart.
Heightened fears
Police say the devastation could have been far worse, had vigilant officers not stopped women at the gate to the concert venue.
Recent Chechen attacks 5 June 2003 - 18 people killed in suicide bomb attack on Russian air force bus 14 May 2003 - 16 people killed in suicide bomb attack at religious festival in Chechen town Iliskhan-Yurt 12 May 2003 - 61 people killed in suicide truck bomb attack on government complex in Chechen town of Znamenskoye 27 December 2002 - 80 killed as suicide bombers drive vehicles packed with explosives into government building in Grozny 23-26 October 2002 - 129 hostages and 41 Chechen guerrillas killed in Moscow theatre siege 19 August 2002 - 118 Russian soldiers killed as Chechen rebels shoot down a transport helicopter |
As panic reigned on the streets outside, many festival-goers inside remained unaware of events.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blasts, but interior ministry officials say they have established clear links to Chechen rebels.
Police said a Chechen passport was found on one of the bombers and the explosive devices are reported to be of the same type used in previous attacks in Chechnya.
Whoever is responsible, the blasts were the first successful suicide attack on the Russian capital, and seem likely to increase a sense of vulnerability among Moscow residents.
There have been heightened fears of attacks since last October when Chechen militants took hundreds of people hostages at a theatre.
That resulted in the deaths of 129 hostages and 41 rebels, including women armed with explosive belts, after Russian special forces pumped noxious gas into the building to end the siege.
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