- Many adults in Russia are disappointed with the way their government dealt with a hostage crisis in Iraq, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 49 per cent of respondents think Russian authorities did not do all they could to rescue four Russian diplomats who were kidnapped.

On Jun. 3, militants of a group linked to al-Qaeda called the Mujahedeen Consultative Assembly shot and killed Russian Embassy employee Vitaly Titov, and kidnapped four others—Fyodor Zaitsev, Oleg Fedoseyev, Rinat Agliulin and Anatoly Smirnov—in Baghdad.

In mid-June, the group called on the Russian government to withdraw its troops from Chechnya and "free all Muslim brothers and sisters from custody" within 48 hours. On Jun. 26, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the four hostages had been killed.

On Jul. 7, the Federation Council unanimously approved a presidential request that would allow Russian forces to "hunt down terrorists anywhere in the world." Russian president Vladimir Putin explained his rationale, saying, "This is not the use of the death penalty—it is a reaction to aggression using the means the country thinks it should use to protect its own interests and the interests of its citizens."

Russia's security services have offered a $10 million U.S. reward for information leading to the capture of the militants. Putin has said these persons should be "eliminated."

Polling Data

Do you think Russian authorities did all they could to rescue the Russian diplomats who were kidnapped in Iraq?

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