What happens when a hostage crisis collides with geopolitics, decades of oppression, and one of the most potent drugs on Earth? In October 2002, Chechen militants took over a packed Moscow theater—and the Russian government decided to end the standoff in a way that still stuns toxicologists today. We’ll unravel the tangled history of Chechnya’s fight for independence, the Kremlin’s heavy-handed responses, and why carfentanil—yes, the elephant tranquilizer—was ever on the table. This is a story of political theater, actual theater, and overdose used as a weapon.
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