Abstract
On September 1st, 2004, the School Number 1 in the city of Beslan, North Ossetia, was the target of a terrorist attack. A group of 32 terrorists, mostly Chechen, took more than 1200 school children and adults hostage. The hostage crisis lasted three days before the authorities' intervened. This event was the consequence of an escalation of violence in the Caucasian region since 1990's. As a matter of fact, terrorism had become the first element of the fight for independence in Chechnya. The atrocity of the Beslan bloodshed was so high, that is could be considered as the culmination of the terrorist campaign in Russia. With respect to the Russia policy towards security, this event was a definitive watershed bringing far-reaching political consequences.
