Russian reaction: Moscovites shocked by the rising death toll from the Beslan school siege yesterday backed the call by President Vladimir Putin for a harsh response to Chechen rebels.
In a speech compared by some commentators to the speech President George Bush used after the World Trade Centre attacks three years ago, Mr Putin sought to rally his people, declaring that the slaughter of children showed that the rebels were resorting to "all-out war". He also made a rare admission of error in the war thus far, telling the Russian people that Moscow had lacked resolve in its five-year war against rebel forces: "We showed weakness, and weak people are beaten," he said.
The speech was watched by Russians shell-shocked not just by the school slaughter but by an unprecedented wave of terror attacks that have seen two airliners brought down and bombs tear through central Moscow.
Mr Putin promised to crack down on corruption and tighten border controls in efforts to beat the rebels. He offered no detailed plans for how this would be carried out. But what perplexes Russians, from the Kremlin downwards, is what can be done. Five years of war, endless crackdowns and offensives have not dented the capacity of rebels to launch fresh attacks.
And Mr Putin told Russians that their "carefree" days were over, a message Moscow is already taking to heart. The city is already coming to resemble a war zone: Some cinemas and theatres have closed down and police units guard every metro station. Inside the stations, announcers warn again and again against suspect packages and insist travellers report any suspicious people to the police.
Business was slack at the sprawling Gerbushka Market, the biggest in Moscow. Normally police attention is reserved for hunting down illicit CDs but this weekend security had priority. All the entrances were manned by police with airport metal detectors to scan everyone going in and out.
Alexei, a 26-year-old CD trader, shrugged when asked if the security made him feel safer. "If the terrorists can't get in, they'll just detonate a bomb at the entrance instead," he said.
He said his fellow traders were shocked by the Beslan horror, despite five years of war. "The terrorists went too far. I have a five-year-old boy, I know how the parents must have felt." But he is unfazed about the likelihood of more bombs on Moscow's streets. "You know, Russians are great fatalists, we believe if it happens, it happens, then that is your fate." But he was less sure about what to do about Chechnya. "It's a very difficult question. Basically we have to end the war. Maybe we should just take the soldiers out of Chechnya, otherwise the war will never end."
Olga, a student, disagrees. "Chechnya belongs to Russia, it has always been Russian, we cannot give it up to independence. If we do other places would follow and what would be left?"
Not everyone was impressed with Putin's speech. "He did not seem sincere," said Julia, a 24-year-old market trade. "Putin has no regrets about what happened."