Why Was St. Petersburg a Target for Terrorism?

According to Blair Ruble, the things that make St. Petersburg a great city are also the reasons it became a target for terrorism. Additionally, he comments on the human tragedy left in the wake of the Russian metro bombing in this edition of TRENDING.

Guest
Blair A. Ruble is currently Vice President for Programs at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and Director of the Center’s Urban Sustainability Laboratory.  Previously, he served as the Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies (1989-2012) as well as of the Center’s Comparative Urban Studies Program (1992-2014), and was Director of the its Program on Global Sustainability and Resilience (2012-2014). Dr. Ruble’s latest book, “The Muse of Urban Delirium,” examines how new forms of performing arts emerge at moments of uncertain social identity in cities undergoing rapid transformation.  His earlier book-length volumes include: “Washington’s U Street: A Biography;”  “Creating Diversity Capital,” and a trilogy examining the fate of Russian provincial cities during the twentieth century.