"Congratulations, you are being rescued. Please, do not resist".

Thank you Simon and team, for completely taking over my YouTube feed. The rest were all junk channels anyways

I remember this in the news for weeks.  My Uncle (in the Navy in WW2) turned to me and said "The soviet union hasn't gone away, it's still there, just a new name" and used this siege and the Russian response as example.

"In exactly zero moments of history has post-Soviet Russia been an easy place to be."

The same is largely true for Soviet and pre-Soviet Russia too. The podcast Behind the Bastards once described Russian history as "a series of lateral moves," which sounds about right.

The Russian approach to things like this is always like they've watched too many Hollywood action movies. There is no such thing as 'sleeping gas' per se - if you want to render a human unconscious through use of sedative substances, no matter how it's administered, they're all going to need respiratory support. The dosage that the people inside received was undoubtedly massive and was always going to end in causing mass civilian casualties. In classic Russian style though this basic fact was ignored and a lot of innocent people died due to reckless incompetence.

The gas used had been tested with incredible success before, but it was tested for OUTDOOR purposes not INDOOR

The children and pregnant women were not let out immediately. They were freed by different negotiators including Josef Kobzon (you mentioned him) and the Surgeon General. But otherwise, very accurate, thank you.

What a chilling quote, "we are more keen on dying than u r of living." Time to start plotting an escape.

The most feared statement anywhere, “We are spetznaz and we’re here to rescue you.”

My wife was actually there at the time - in the audience

Everything ended fine for us fortunately, but there it is..

The poor man that gave the quote at the end of this video said "the state failed couldn't save..." That's sad that he can't say the state killed my family!! He's in a suppose democracy and still must hold his tongue.

I checked a few weeks ago if Simon did this topic already. I knew it would not be far away 😊

The S.O.B.R? That got to be the closest a Russian has come to being fully sober 😂

The gas was an analogue of fentanyl, it’s been reported on many times in the past and a spetsnaz operator who had been there mentioned that the hostages not being put on their side in the recovery position was a large reason for the mass deaths

That opening scene in Tenet hits different after this video

Simon  you are at your absolute best when you cover events like this. You make people very aware  of the seriousness of the topic  your covering and bring our all the right emotions and feelings in your audience.. The background music is always well chosen to ensure that your listeners  understand and embrace the seriousness of the story.

You have an incredible gift Simon of telling the story and that your audience will think or talk about it to others well after the episode ends .

You have a perfect team of writers that you work in harmony with. It's an excellent and rare combination to have.

I greatly appreciate all the hard work you and your staff to do make all your stories come to life. You have a set that compliments the tone of your story .

When it comes to your more funny segments which I also love. You have impeccable comedic timing along with the music and video shorts..

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to you and say thank you Simon. Thank you for what you do and to open our eyes and make us think . Your not just a well established and highly respected  storyteller.

You are a man that the world needs in these uncertain times to make us think, change, debate, laugh, cry.  And most of all to make us aware that we are have the potential to become better people and be more loving and compassionate towards others.

No Simon your not just a story teller. Your an invaluable and unreplaceablble  reporter of the world. Past and present.

I was at my grandma’s while it was unfolding. We were glued to the tv, watching in shock. It was a bit after 9/11 and also a few years prior to the Beslan massacre. Quite unsettling those years.

A history of false flag attacks would be incredibly interesting

There’s an apartment block that happened to blow up around that time.. you should also do a video on it too

Got here so early, had to help put up the banners