ECO-TERRORES
Cell phones were rebels’ downfall: During their three-day siege of a Moscow theater, Chechen terrorists allowed hundreds of hostages to use personal cell phones to reassure their family members and relay new demands. What they didn’t know, officials here say, was that Russia’s security services were on the other end listening and gathering information crucial to ending the hostage crisis.
Dial 'H' for Hostage: Mark Rankov, one of 750 hostages held by Chechen extremists inside a theater here last week, had a message for the Russian people while he was a captive: "Your TV is lying."
Rankov, 28, wanted his countrymen to know that it wasn't just his Chechen captors who favored holding a rally on the Moscow streets to end the war in Chechnya, as Russian television had reported. So did a number of the hostages.
Rankov contacted his friend, Olga Brukovsky, on a cell phone while the standoff was in progress. She took down his words and published them online at LiveJournal.com, a website that has become increasingly popular among Russians in recent years.