57 Hours: A Survivor's Account of the Moscow Hostage Drama

by Vesselin Nedkov

To celebrate the last night of a business trip in Moscow, Canadian resident Vesselin Nedkov and a friend picked up two tickets to the hottest musical in town. Halfway through the show, his life was changed forever. 57 Hours is Nedkov's harrowing account of being trapped between two immovable and unpredictable forces: inside the theatre, suicidal Chechen rebels, loaded with explosives, demanded an end to the bloody civil war that was ravaging Chechnya; outside, Russian special forces prepared to storm the theatre, refusing to negotiate with the rebels. Through fifty-seven hours of fear and fatigue, Nedkov discovered courage and ingenuity he never knew he had. Here he takes us into the maelstrom of the civil war that still plagues Russia.

Genres: Russia, Terrorism

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Kim Dubuc McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with most people’s reviews. It’s not super compelling but I was still quite invested. It’s so interesting to see it from a hostage’s point of view.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having researched this incident from the perspective of the military response, it was interesting to see what a hostage was thinking. The book doesn't yield much information for the tactician, but I was struck by how well planned some aspects of the takeover were, yet at the same time the immaturity and inexperience of the hostage takers almost lead to an even earlier demise.

Their mantra of "We want to die more than you want to live" is an important one for responders in the west to understand. We just aren't used to facing offenders with this amount of motivation.

[Nellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A view from the inside of a hostage-taking incident. Not truly compelling but an interesting read all the same.