Around 2 November 2002 , Basayev claimed on a terrorist website that he was responsible for the Moscow theater hostage crisis ( although the siege was led by Movsar Barayev ) in which 50 Chechens held about 800 people hostage ; Russian forces later stormed the building using gas , killing the Chechens and more than 100 hostages . Basayev also tendered his resignation from all posts in Maskhadov 's government apart from the reconnaissance and sabotage battalion . He defended the operation but asked Maskhadov for forgiveness for not informing him of it . The answer to who was behind the hostage taking , however , is not so clear – some dissidents claim , including Alexander Litvinenko , was that the FSB was behind the Moscow theater incident
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Shamil Basayev