Relatives of people killed in Russia's Beslan school hostage-taking have taken their protests to Moscow, uniting with victims of other attacks to bolster their case to have negligent officials brought to book.
Since the September drama, when more than 330 people died in a botched operation to rescue school children and staff from Chechen militants, they have blamed local leaders for failing to prevent the bloodbath.
In coming to Moscow, they said they were trying to increase pressure on Alexander Dzasokhov, president of the North Caucasus region that includes Beslan - whose resignation they had already tried to force with protests in their home town.
"Our main aim is to reach society, to reach you all," Susanna Dudiyeva, who lost her 12-year-old son in Beslan's school No. 1, told reporters on Thursday. She handed out an open letter to President Vladimir Putin demanding action.
"The government must be brought to justice just like the criminals that committed this act ... If Russia does not change after this tragedy, then we will not have a future."
The Beslan raid was the latest in a series of attacks by Chechen rebels fighting for an independent state. Relatives say corrupt state officials helped the militants.
In previous operations, guerrillas seized a Moscow theatre in a 2002 attack that killed 129 people, sent a string of suicide bombers into the heart of Moscow and, just before the Beslan attack, blew up two airliners killing 90 people.
Relatives of the victims of these attacks have long demanded that officials be held to account, saying tolerance of incompetence and corruption prevents police learning how to prevent more attacks.
The Kremlin brought in new laws to change Russia's system of government after Beslan to give Putin more control over regional administrations, but no high-level officials have been punished for failing to prevent the attack.
In forming a loose association to unite the victims, the relatives hope to strengthen their impact.
"It is hard to talk to the government on your own, which is why we need to unite," said Tatyana Karpova, whose son Alexander died in the theatre siege.
She has also forged links with relatives of people killed in the Moscow and airliner bombings, and representatives of all the victims' groups held a joint meeting earlier this week.
"We do not think the government has the right to ignore any terrorist act, no matter how many people die," she said.
Like nearly all the victims of the theatre siege, her son died of the effects of a gas used to disable the militants. Relatives say officials have never been punished for their failure to tell doctors how to treat people harmed by the gas.
"After what happened to see that nothing has changed, and that such people remain in their posts, is like selling out our children," said Emma Tagayeva, who lost her husband and two children in Beslan.
"I have nothing to lose now, so I will not shut up ... We need to change (Russia) if we are to survive."