Vesselin Nedkov is one of the three Bulgarians who were taken as hostages in the Moscow Theater. He answered questions of Martina Iovcheva over the phone from the Moscow hospital. Mr. Nedkov sounded very well.
Q: How do you feel now?
A: I feel well. Thank you. All medical results are good. The attention is huge. We are all the time surrounded by doctors. I hope that soon I will go out from the hospital.
Q: What is your worst memory from the three days of the siege?
A: The most terrible night was the night before the Russian forces entered. Then, honestly, we were convinced that this was the last night since the negotiations hadn't led to a significant change. Most of the terrorists and especially their leaders were very aggressive and nervous. They were speaking to each other in Russian, saying that this was the end and that we were all going to die during the night. They were saying that they were going to die during the night, which meant of course that we were also going to die. Most of their guns were ready to shoot. I was convinced that this was the last night. It was most scary when the men stood around us and the leader ordered that all of us lie down on the chairs. All got very scared and tried to hide somewhere but that was absurd considering that there were so many people with guns and explosives. All were very, very frightened. It later appeared that this was a bluff and it was done for their entertainment. After five or six minutes they said that everything was fine. That was a very strong psychological attack over us. In fact, they entertained each other like that.
Q: Could you describe the Chechens?
A: Some of them were very aggressive while the rest acted neutral. Two or three among the women were extremely friendly. I am still asking myself whether this was taking place on purpose or by accident. One of the male hostages even made a present to one of them. Some of the hostages were smiling at her and were happy that she was near them. That was weird since explosives were tied to her.
Q: What was your attitude towards the "friendly" terrorists?
A: The attitude towards the foreigners was different. There were no such relations with them. We were not separated in a specific way from the Russian hostages, there was not a specific "border" between us. We were simply placed in one part of the hall, while the Russians were in another.
Q: Did the Chechens start consciously to kill the hostages?
A: The Chechens did not start on purpose to kill the hostages. There was an attempt on behalf of one young man among the hostages to attack one female suicide bomber. They started shooting and like that accidentally two people got killed - a girl and a boy. That was entirely accidental. So, everything started after the hostage tried to attack and it wasn't on purpose. However, I feel that anyway the terrorists would have started killing us very soon.
Q: What was the influence of the gas over you?
A: I lost consciousness immediately and in two or three hours I found myself in the hospital.
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