The First Terrorist Attack in the USSR. How Schizophrenic Doctor Volynsky Blowed Up a Bus — 10 Victims 0 10

A homemade bomb made from a regular alarm clock and a fire extinguisher took the lives of 10 people. Another 40 were injured, some of whom became disabled for life. The perpetrator was a mentally ill orphan who hated tall people and dreamed of taking revenge on them. He even wanted to organize a so-called "League for the Protection of Short People," which would carry out reprisals against those who were different from them. Additionally, he considered Napoleon his idol. What the terrorist wrote in his diary and when the first "warning signs" appeared — in our material.

A Strange Passenger with a Suitcase and an Explosion: How Investigators Traced the Terrorist

One of the bloodiest events in the post-war history of Krasnodar occurred on the morning of June 14, 1971. In the morning, a "LAZ" bus traveling on route No. 1 "Hertsen — Radio Plant" exploded on Turgenev Street. The explosion was so powerful that it uprooted surrounding trees and damaged nearby houses. Fortunately, no one outside was harmed, but inside, it was pure hell. At that moment, there were about 80 people in the cabin. Five people died on the spot, and another five later died in the hospital. Additionally, 40 passengers sustained serious injuries.

There could have been more victims if not for the selfless actions of the bus driver Anatoly Poberya, who fortunately did not sustain significant injuries. Despite the intense heat from the burning vehicle, he managed to quickly open the jammed doors and break the windows, allowing most passengers to escape from the fiery trap.

A day after the incident, investigators began interviewing the surviving passengers. Several witnesses of the attack remembered a man who was behaving very suspiciously, talking to himself while riding on the bus with them. He had a black suitcase with him. At one point, he asked to get off, claiming he suddenly felt unwell. Just a few minutes after he left the cabin, the explosion occurred.

To identify the person involved in the terrorist act, investigators began reviewing all old cases. The main suspect became former doctor Pyotr Volynsky — his name appeared after the bombing of the door of psychiatry professor Nikolai Kromov. Previously, a homemade explosive device had also been found on the door of his apartment. The bomb, like the one used in the bus explosion, was made from the casing of a fire extinguisher. However, it differed in that a regular iron was used instead of a timer mechanism, serving as a counterweight. The explosion in the apartment was only prevented by a lucky coincidence. Concerned neighbors noticed the suspicious device and called the police. However, no action was taken as the incident was considered a "joke" by students, and the homemade bomb was simply thrown into the Kuban River. Subsequently, one law enforcement officer was convicted for this.

Napoleonic Plans: Terrifying Discoveries in the Terrorist's Apartment

What motives did Volynsky have for committing such a monstrous terrorist act? The answer was found during searches of his apartment, where many other homemade explosive devices and components for their manufacture were located. These included metal cylinders, timer mechanisms, gunpowder, bearings, as well as literature on explosives and blueprints. The materials found would have been enough to blow up an entire apartment building.

But the most shocking discovery was yet to come — it was his personal diary, in which he recorded his delusional ideas.

The terrorist suffered from a complex due to his short stature and was convinced that people of average height "capture" short people, place them in secret laboratories, and even castrate them. Thus, Volynsky created his own theory of a "world conspiracy."

Volynsky also wrote that tall people needed to be exterminated and even planned to establish a "League of Short People." Its main goal would be to "conduct activities to save short people from sterilization and extermination in the USSR and other countries of the world." The man even sought like-minded individuals in Krasnodar to help him create this "organization."

"People like me are unique. These long creatures must die in terrible agony so that we can live easier. This is the main goal of my 'League.' This will be a lesson for everyone. They will learn that they cannot joke with us. We will kill again and again until my power and the power of the 'League' is recognized by everyone around," Volynsky wrote in his diary.

He was obsessed with the idea of his own exclusivity. In his room in the apartment hung a photo of himself with the inscription "I can do anything." Next to it was a portrait of Napoleon, on which the emperor's height was handwritten — 157 cm.

When the terrorist was apprehended, when asked what motivated him to blow up the bus, he replied that he "hated people." The court found Volynsky insane. According to the verdict, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in a closed psychiatric hospital.

A Doctor Turned Terrorist: Diagnosis Ruined His Life and Led Him to Crime

As for Kromov, Volynsky intended to take revenge on the professor who headed the commission conducting the examination and diagnosed him with "schizophrenia." Because of this, Pyotr could no longer work as a therapist. Many could not believe that a person whose task was to help people could commit such a terrorist act. However, long before this, he had been noted for certain oddities.

The boy was a complete orphan and a child of war. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a doctor, and he managed to enroll in the Kuban State Medical University. As his classmates recalled, he was reclusive, did not communicate with anyone, and brought a suitcase to almost every class, in which an alarm clock constantly rang. But no one paid attention to these "rings." When the medical institute learned about the student's inadequate behavior, they only held a preventive conversation with him.

After graduating, the young man got a job in the Bryukhovetskaya District Hospital, but he did not work there long, failing his probation period. After that, he ended up in Novoderevyankovskaya, but there patients began to complain about his strange treatment methods. According to them, the doctor burned their fingers with an alcohol lamp.

After several such incidents, it was decided to conduct a psychiatric examination of Volynsky. This ended his medical career. The certified specialist was forced to languish on construction sites and work as a loader at a factory.

The terrorist act in Krasnodar might not have been the only one. According to investigators, Volynsky also attempted to bring a bomb to the "Aurora" cinema when officials were present. However, the ticket seller refused to let him into the hall without an invitation ticket.