March 29th

Hello, I am safe at home. Stayed here after heard the news on the radio. Cell phones do not work, so still challenging to locate everybody. Hardly found Artyom, the brother, and he is okay at work. Youlya, the friend who uses exactly the Red (Sokolnycheskaya) line at this time - was using it (in fact, the other line) a bit later. Now metro is quite empty as many stayed at home. Red line is still not working, bodies are still there, the injured are in the hospitals.

The phone lines are overloaded, and also there is information that cell lines are blocked to control the situation (supposedely the cell signals were used for attacks). So only regular lines and Internet.

Listen to Russian radio and reading BBC, France2 etcetera - the information looks the same and adequate, though things were very emotional on Russian radio (the channel I listen - when people call to the studio and suggest different ideas, which were difficult to imagine to be heard on the radio yesterday (quite a free-minded radio, and now there are ideas about giving more control for example, more authority permissions towards citizens etc). Yes, it is the wrong day to build theories, but somebody has done all that - somebody and for some reason, and for some reason others change their mind now. Right now on the radio - it is more like news, with news jingles and adverts. Such is life.

As people say, police and metro employees were reacting quickly and professionally, the medical help also arrived quickly. But right now I do not understand the forty minutes gap in the timing between two explosions. There are only three station in between.

It is officially advised now not to go to the center if possible. My office is in the center exactly, and our director recently sent emails encouraging everybody to work from home. I was on the Loubyanka station yesterday evening - were meeting with girls.

Speaking a lot about North Caucasian people (there are a lot of them in Moscow), about taxi drivers who overcharged hugely today because the metro stopped (and taxi drivers are often the same "southern" people). But again, those unhappy quite suffer from police and circumstances, so they are trying to earn more when possible. There already was a fight on another station - the man suspected two "southern" looking women (just said on the radio). Of course there are examples of solidarity and healthy sense, but the reaction started (or was started) again. There are also official announcements to stay calm and tolerant towards each other (meaning possible ethnical conflicts).

It is terrible.

I am safe, so are my close ones, thank you.