Heroization of law enforcers after Beslan terror act raises issue of historical memory

The authorities' desire to heroize the law enforcers who had stormed the school is unacceptable, Ella Kesaeva, the head of the "Voice of Beslan" Committee, is convinced.

On September 1-3, events are being held in North Ossetia on the 15th anniversary of the terror act in Beslan.

According to Ms Kesaeva, the chair of the "Voice of Beslan" that unites some victims' relatives, the absence of President Vladimir Putin at the mourning events is explained by the fact that "he realizes that this was a crime."

She is outraged by the fact that in Beslan they are trying to launch a campaign to heroize the special fighters who stormed the school.

On September 1, North Ossetia held an awarding ceremony of special fighters and rescuers, who took part in the operation to storm the school and rescue the hostages, Vyacheslav Bitarov, the head of North Ossetia, wrote in his Instagram.

The growth of the number of Russians convinced that only terrorists are guilty of the death of hostages in Beslan is explained by the extremely low level of citizens' historical memory, Oleg Orlov, the head of the "Hot Spots" Programme at the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", believes. In his opinion, "it'll take centuries" to change the situation.