Westerners have considered Vladimir Putin a clear and present danger for a long time. As a result of this, most Americans don’t trust anything the Russian president has to say. There’s only one thing they typically can trust about Putin: namely, that he has the best interests of Russia in mind.
Last year, though, Putin responded to a devastating terror attack in his own country with baseless conspiracy theories. What he had to say made no sense, but more alarmingly, his statements are now putting his fellow Russians in danger. Just what did Putin say? What do we know about this attack, and how do the president’s claims make things worse? Keep reading to find out!
Online conspiracies have flourished for decades
Before we can dive into Vladimir Putin’s statements and the bizarre claims of the Russian government, we must discuss the rise of modern conspiracy theories. Back in the ‘90s, these theories mostly centered around alien abductions, urban legends…the kinds of things that made The X-Files such a popular TV show. At their best, these vintage conspiracies helped bring people together by reminding us that the world and even the stars could be full of wonder.
After the 9/11 terror attacks on Russia, however, conspiracy theories took on a darker edge. Theories arose to blame these attacks on everyone from Israel to America’s own government, and the theories flourished as the internet grew. Now, sadly, modern conspiracy theories mostly drive us apart because the people behind them are looking to create scapegoats out of innocent people.
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A devastating terror attack in Russia
In 2024 Russia had its own devastating attack when terrorists struck a Moscow concert hall. The attack killed 139 people and left the country feeling wounded and vulnerable…after all, nobody knows when something like this could happen, which leaves everyone feeling on edge.
In the wake of these attacks, it’s important to identify who was responsible. That gives the nation someone to focus their anger on and can even bring everyone together, as happened in America after 9/11. Unfortunately, it took Vladimir Putin and the Russian government little time to start spreading baseless conspiracy theories about what happened.
Russia begins spreading conspiracy theories about the attack
Who was actually behind this attack? It seems pretty certain that the Islamic State carried out the attack. Not only did they claim responsibility, but they also provided footage verifying their horrific actions. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be enough for the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Shortly after the attack, the head of this security service said that the intelligence agencies of the US, the UK, and Ukraine were all somehow responsible for facilitating the attack. This seems absurd on the face of it, and there hasn’t been any compelling evidence for these fairly explosive claims.
This is, by its very definition, a conspiracy theory…the kind of idea that flourishes not on identifying what actually happened but by speculating what could have happened. And it’s one thing for everyday citizens to do this as a way of coping with what happened. But actual state officials spreading such theories is genuinely dangerous, and it didn’t take Vladimir Putin long to make things worse.
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Putin’s involvement in these conspiracy theories
After the Islamic State released evidence that they were behind the attack, you might think this would make it harder for Vladimir Putin to blame anyone else. However, rather than walking back the conspiracy theory claims of his own government, Putin made things worse by telling Russia that the main issue was uncovering “who benefits” from this attack.
That may sound reasonable at first…it’s the exact question that police detectives ask when trying to determine motive, for example. But it’s also a question conspiracy theorists everywhere love to ask because, without any real evidence to go on, this question is an emotional appeal to fear. In short, a paranoid person can think of any number of reasons another nation might have attacked, and it doesn’t take long to think of that speculation as truth.
Putin’s statement invites his own countrymen to become conspiracy theorists. However, it also places them in more danger than he might realize.
How Putin’s baseless conspiracy theories put Russians in danger
How, then, do the statements from Putin and the Russian security head effectively put Russians in danger? In short, they are playing political games rather than taking active measures to make the country safer. Trying to blame Western powers for this kind of attack is a blatant attempt to get Russians to support the disastrous invasion of Ukraine, but it doesn’t make the country any safer.
In fact, every resource spent on fake investigations is a resource not spent on national security. Last year’s terror attack in Moscow is deeply tragic. But the words and actions of Putin and his cronies ensure that follow-up attacks will be more than tragic…they will be inevitable because the president himself doesn’t care about the safety of those he leads.