1988 Ordzhonikidze bus hijacking

Bus hijacking event in the Soviet Union December 2023 1988 Ordzhonikidze bus hijacking Ilyushin Il-76T, Aeroflot AN1362925.jpg Ordzhonikidze, Soviet Union(Now Vladikavkaz, Russia) The aircraft involved in the incident in 1994 LAZ-697 bus with schoolchildren 1–2 December 1988 Hijacking, hostage taking None Pavel Yakshiyants Vladimir Muravlev German Vishnyakov Vladimir Anastasov Tofiy Jafarov On 1 December 1988, a LAZ-697 bus carrying around thirty pupils and one teacherFrankel Glenn 3 December 1988 SOVIET HIJACKERS GIVE UP QUIETLY IN ISRAEL https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/12/03/soviet-hijackers-give-up-quietly-in-israel/0fc9c9c0-2806-45f7-adf1-56124f3476db/ 1 December 2018 The Washington Post 0190-8286 1 December 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181201093226/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/12/03/soviet-hijackers-give-up-quietly-in-israel/0fc9c9c0-2806-45f7-adf1-56124f3476db/ live from school 42 in Ordzhonikidze, Soviet Union (now Vladikavkaz in Russia) was hijacked by five-armed criminals, led by Pavel Yakshiyants. The local authorities conceded to the hijackers' demands and provided an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft to fly the hijackers to Israel. Upon landing at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, however, the hijackers surrendered to local troops and police without resistance. They were extradited to the Soviet Union and sentenced to prison terms, although at that time Israel and the Soviet Union had no extradition treaty as relations were still severed. All hostages were released. The Defense Minister of Israel at the time, Yitzhak Rabin, criticized Soviet authorities for providing the hijackers with an aircraft and flying them to Israel in exchange for the release of the hostages.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-02-mn-1234-story.html 5 Hijack Soviet School Bus, Get Plane, Land in Israel : Bandits Paid Ransom of $3.3 Million Los Angeles Times 2 December 1988 10 July 2014 2 December 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201202232815/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-02-mn-1234-story.html live Perpetrators The five hijackers were Pavel Levonovich Yakshiyants, Vladimir Alexandrovich Muravlev, German Lvovich Vishnyakov, Vladimir Robertovich Anastasov, and Tofiy Jafarov.«Кололись и угрожали»: как захватывали автобус со школьниками "They injected and threatened": how a bus with schoolchildren was seized https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2018/12/01_a_12079231.shtml 29 November 2020 Gazeta.ru Russian 8 December 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201208205131/https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2018/12/01_a_12079231.shtml live Yakshiyants and Muravlev were already ex-convicts before the incident. Yakshiyants, an Armenian, was first convicted at age 17 and sentenced to two years in prison for theft. Later, he was sentenced to four years in prison for robbery. In 1972, he was sentenced to ten years, again for robbery, but released on parole in 1979.Взбесившийся автобус The Bus That Runs Wild http://www.specnaz.ru/article/?1362 10 July 2014 Specnaz.ru Russian 30 November 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20221130004224/https://www.specnaz.ru/article/?1362 live Hijacking The group of 30–31 schoolchildren had finished a field trip to a local printing plant when a man approached them saying he was the driver sent to take them home. Subsequently, the teacher and her 10- and 11-year-old pupils boarded the bus to find themselves the hostages of five-armed people. The children were used as a human shield and bargaining chip.Barringer Felicity 3 December 1988 After Fear-Tinged Bus Ride, Tearful and Joyous Reunion https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/03/world/after-fear-tinged-bus-ride-tearful-and-joyous-reunion.html 10 July 2014 The New York Times 11 July 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230711065707/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/03/world/after-fear-tinged-bus-ride-tearful-and-joyous-reunion.html live The hijackers rode to the local obkom and demanded about 2 million rubles (about US$3.3 million at the time) and an aircraft. The bus windows were curtained so that the law enforcement units could not see what was happening inside. The authorities conceded, but the airport of Ordzhonikidze was unable to handle the large Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft that was sent. The hijackers drove to the airport of Mineralnye Vody with free passage. Russia's Alpha Group was mobilized for a possible hostage rescue. It was learned that the hijackers were planning to land in Tashkent to pick up a friend then fly to Pakistan, but changed their mind and chose Israel instead. According to Israeli Army commander Maj. Gen. Amram Mitzna, the hijackers believed they would be safe in Israel because they had heard that recent Israeli elections had produced an anticommunist government. The aircraft, escorted by Israeli fighter aircraft, landed on a remote darkened runway. It was surrounded by army and police vehicles and ambulances. According to an Ilyushin Il-76 crew member, the hijackers asked whether they had landed in Israel or Syria, and if it was Israel they would stay. Mitzna told that the hijackers demanded proof that they were actually in Israel, wanting to hear Yiddish or see a Star of David. When a soldier on the runway spoke a few words in Yiddish, the hijackers left the aircraft with their hands in the air. The hostages were flown back to Ordzhonikidze. Perpetrators have been arrested by Israeli police and sent to Soviet Union for sentencing. In March 1989, Yakshiyants was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Murlav to 14 years. The remaining defendants received sentences ranging from three to fourteen years. 18 March 1989 4 Hijackers of Soviet School Bus Sentenced to Up to 15 Years https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-18-mn-131-story.html 1 December 2023 Los Angeles Times 12 December 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231212091533/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-18-mn-131-story.html live Media The 1990 film Frenzied Bus was based on the hijacking.Evdokimov Pavel 12 December 2008 ru:Взбесившийся Автобус-2 Running Bus-2 http://www.specnaz.ru/article/?1377 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170801114312/http://www.specnaz.ru/article/?1377 1 August 2017 30 November 2020 Russian Special Forces ru The 2024 biographical film Komandir was based on the hijacking.https://www.kino-teatr.ru/kino/news/y2023/5-18/31260/ Кирилл Зайцев создаст группу «Альфа» в «Командире» 18 May 2023 2024-01-11 2024-01-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20240111141721/https://www.kino-teatr.ru/kino/news/y2023/5-18/31260/ live References Category:1988 crimes in Russia Category:1988 in international relations Category:1988 in Israel Category:1988 in the Soviet Union Category:Aircraft hijackings in Asia Category:Aircraft hijackings in Europe Category:December 1988 in Europe Category:Hijackings in 1988 Category:Hijackings in Europe Category:Hostage taking in Russia Category:Israel–Soviet Union relations Category:Lod Category:Vladikavkaz Category:Terrorist incidents in the Soviet Union Category:Terrorist incidents in the Soviet Union in the 1980s