Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov said that false reports of the threat of an explosion of buildings in Russia were carried out by four Russians who are abroad. According to him, they have accomplices on the territory of Russia.

"We installed them. True, it was not easy to do it, "Bortnikov said. The FSB conducts work on the identification and search of organizers and accomplices jointly with partners, he said after a meeting of heads of special services of security agencies and law enforcement agencies in 76 countries.

"Since they used IP technology, it is difficult to determine the location of the dislocation. This is recognized not only by us, but also recognized by our partners, with whom we are now working, "Bortnikov explained (quoted by Interfax). According to him, certain "technical things" complicate the work.

The damage to objects in Russia from false calls is estimated at about 300 million rubles. Evacuation took place in accordance with the rules of the FSB. Law enforcement officers were obliged to take all measures to verify the information received.

"I understand that at the moment, taking into account what happened, we must once again look carefully at what needs to be done, because the damage from the actions, including the economic ones, is substantial, not only that the moral damage is substantial. We considered the economy on the first days - more than 300 million rubles. The structures that were subjected to false calls suffered losses, "Bortnikov said.

On September 28, it became known that law enforcement agencies detained the suspect in deliberately false telephone threats. He was a 31-year-old resident of the Moscow region. A criminal case has been instituted against him under Art. 207 of the Criminal Code (a knowingly false report of an act of terrorism). He was arrested, he faces a sentence of imprisonment for up to three years.

A wave of mass calls about mining began in Russian cities on September 11. Usually in one city "several" objects are simultaneously mined - shopping centers, cinemas, railway stations, schools, administrative buildings and even apartment houses. Evacuation of the media is reported, usually with reference to sources or eyewitnesses. According to the source of "RIA Novosti" in emergency services, during this time, about 800 000 people in 120 cities of Russia were evacuated. More than 1,900 buildings were "mined". However, in none of the cases the threat of explosions was confirmed.

On October 3 in Moscow anonym "mined" two universities, a gymnasium and an apartment building, and the next day it was reported about the mining of the Moscow mayor's office. However, the building and employees did not evacuate and decided to continue working, despite telephone threats. On Tuesday, the parliament and the government of Tatarstan were evacuated in Kazan after receiving an anonymous report on mining.

The first of the high-ranking Russian officials calls for "mining" began to comment on the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov. He argued that evacuations were not associated with any exercises, and described the calls as a serious problem. The media assumed that reports of "mines" could come from Ukraine, from the "Islamic state" (banned in Russia) or from a group of hackers in Brussels.