May 9 — a terrorist attack in Kaspiysk that took place during a parade dedicated to Victory Day. As a result of the attack, 43 people were killed. About 120 people were injured in total. Those who planned the attack in Kaspiysk achieved their goal. They wanted to shock an entire country celebrating Victory Day.
And they did shock it — they gave Russia a holiday with tears in its eyes. A stunned President Putin even compared the organizers of the Pyatigorsk bombing to Nazis — the same cynicism, the same blind cruelty, the same contempt for human lives.” Izvestia, 13.05.2002
The attack was organized by Rappani Khalilov, commander of the Dagestan sector of the Caucasus Front of the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
In May 2002, Rappani’s father, Abdulla Khalilov, at a press conference in the building of the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs, publicly disowned his son in connection with allegations that he was involved in the Kaspiysk attack: “You are my first enemy. If I catch you, I will burn you personally.” Khalilov himself rejected these accusations, claiming that he had never carried out terrorist attacks against civilians, attacking exclusively representatives of law enforcement agencies, special services officers, and military personnel.
