The Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater on 23 October 2002 by 40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya.
The Moscow theater hostage crisis (also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege) was the capture of 850 hostages in a crowded Dubrovka Theater theatre by 40 to 50 armed Chechens on 23 October 2002, that ended with the death of at least 170 people. The attackers, led by Movsar Barayev, claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya.