Nord-Ost (Russian: Норд-Ост, means "North-East" in German) is a Russian musical theater production based on the novel Two Captains by Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin . It is a fictional story based around the historical events surrounding the discovery of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago in 1913.

On October 23, 2002 Chechen guerrillas took the audience hostage in the Moscow theater that was showing the production of Nord-Ost, threatening to blow up the building and demanding withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya. Most of the hostages were released after the theatre was stormed by special forces, but many died.

After the attack, Nord-Ost returned to the same theater stage in Moscow on February 8, 2003 and continued showing there until May 10, 2003, when the producers took it off the stage, quoting the loss of viewer interest due to fears caused by the attack.

Since then, there have been guest performances of Nord-Ost in various cities in Russia and other countries. A return to Moscow in 2006, possibly to a different theater site, is being planned.

External links

• http://www.nordostjustice.org
• http://www.thenordost.com/
• http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/10/28/016.html