Mystery after terrorist attack in Moscow: who are the men in blue?

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It was the worst attack on Russian territory in more than two decades. Masked men stormed the fully occupied Crocus town hall on Friday and opened fire on concertgoers. 139 people were killed. Shortly afterwards, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Eleven people were subsequently arrested.

Much is still unclear. According to a conspiracy theory, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (71) himself was behind the terrorist attack. There is no evidence for this. As the Belarusian media project Nexta now reports, agents of the Russian secret service FSB could have been among the concertgoers. Nexta was founded in Belarus in 2015 and was quickly banned by the regime. It is considered the leading voice in exile on what is happening in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Did the FSB help the terrorists?

According to Nexta, an analysis of the video recordings of the terrorist attack showed that several similarly dressed men in blue sweaters and jeans were in the concert hall on the evening of the attack and behaved strangely.

Instead of panicking like the others, they stayed calm and didn’t run away. Some seemed to be communicating with each other. And they would be responsible for closing the doors before the terrorists opened fire. It is said that this made the escape more difficult and caused more people to die.

Men in blue arrest terrorists

Nexta then tried to identify the men. But it was difficult because the videos were recorded in poor quality. Therefore, a comparison with the FSB’s open database could not be made. Nevertheless, it was possible to locate an alleged FSB man.

He is said to be seen in another photo showing a man holding a certificate for third place in an arm wrestling competition. Photographed in the Sosenskoye settlement in Moscow, where the headquarters of the Russian secret service is located.

In addition, the ‘men in blue’ also played a role in the arrest. Video footage shows men in blue clothing standing next to those arrested. Nexta concludes that FSB agents use this color to disappear unnoticed in the crowd, but at the same time can easily recognize each other.

Maybe blue is just a popular color in Russia

Another clue: the same ‘Blue Man’ is seen once in videos of the attack and later during the arrest of a terrorist. “His face is hidden by a mask, but his facial features, the shape of his head and the position of his eyes indicate that he is the same person,” Nexta said.

Nexta has no hard evidence. And they know that too. But it is special what deviations there are. In the comments on X, some agree with the theory. Others have their doubts. “It could also simply mean that the FSB is on site undercover at such mass events for security reasons,” one person wrote. Nexta responds: Very possible, but the behavior of the men and their inaction during the attack were strange.

Someone else writes that blue may just be a popular color in Russia. “Yes, it is a very popular color and that is why it is so good for hiding in a crowd,” writes Nexta.

Terrorists stopped near Ukraine

Meanwhile, the FSB has accused Western and Ukrainian secret services of supporting the attack on a concert hall near Moscow. “We believe that the action was prepared both by the radical Islamists themselves and by the Western secret services,” the Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, as saying on Tuesday. Ukrainian services were “directly involved,” he added.

And Putin said on Monday that the attackers had tried to flee to Ukraine. “Who expected them there?” the Kremlin boss asked. Kiev denies any involvement in the attack.

Source: Blick