Maybe the dramatic hostage taking will spark a furious Russian retaliation in Chechnya. The attack on the Moscow theatre will heat the blood of the hardliners. Did the substantial financing needed for such an operation come from abroad? Barayev's team were equipped with satellite phones, enabling them to call the Reuters news agency in Ankara, Turkey, late on Friday night. They repeatedly mentioned Shamil Basayev, one of the more radical Chechen warlords.
