5 Hostages Taken at Astrakhan College Freed

By The Moscow Times

March 13, 2013

All hostages taken by an armed man at a college in the center of Astrakhan earlier today have been freed, news reports said Thursday evening.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. at the Volgo-Kaspiisky fishing college, when an unknown man took two faculty members of the college and two students into an auditorium with what appeared to be a gun and warned that he was going to detonate a bomb, Gazeta.ru reported.

In negotiations with police, the man's only demand was for food and drinks — specifically pizza and Coca-Cola.

Around 5:00 p.m., it was reported that the hostages had all been freed and the hostage taker detained, along with a female who was believed by police to have been helping him.

A spokesperson for the regional police told Gazeta.ru that the object thought to be a gun earlier was in fact a replica, as was the object that the man claimed was a bomb.

The motive is still unclear. An investigation is under way.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue