Incident Summary:

12/19/2000: Yosef Ordzhonikidze, Deputy premier of the Moscow city government, was attacked by two masked, unknown gunmen with automatic weapons near City Hall in Moscow, around 9:15 am. The Deputy Mayor was wounded in the abdomen and leg, while his driver was killed.

GTD ID:
200012190001

When:
2000-12-19

Country:
Russia

Region:
Eastern Europe

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Moscow

City:
Moscow

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Assassination
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (General)
Name of Entity Russian Government Official
Specific Description Yosef Ordzhonikidze, Deputy Premier of the Moscow City Government
Nationality of Target Russia
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Automatic Weapon
Explosives Grenade
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Police said the attack may have been a contract killing. Two masked gunmen wielding Kalashnikov weapons sprayed the official's metal-plated car with armor-piercing bullets. Police found a Kalashnikov and a portable grenade-launcher which the assassins did not use. In his city government post, Ordshonikidze is in change of international economic relations. The latest project he was working on was the construction of a $100 million Formula-1 racetrack in the capital's Nagatino district. The Mayor of Moscow, Mr. Yuri Luzhkov, blamed the attack on mafia, saying his deputy clearly crossed someone's path.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Unknown No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 2
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 1 Fatalities / 1 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 1
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 1
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
Vladimir, Radyuhin, “Gunmen Attack Moscow DY. Mayor,” The Hindu, December 20, 2000.
“Moscow deputy mayor injured in gun attack,” Moscow Interfax in English, December 19, 2000.