A wave of popular disgust and disillusion was enveloping President Vladimir Putin yesterday over his handling of the Moscow hostage emergency.
Relatives of some of the estimated 600 or more hostages defied an official ban on protests to demonstrate next to Red Square and outside the suburban theatre where the hostages are being held.
The authorities threatened to crack down on dissent and close down Red Square to prevent further protests. But a barrage of media criticism was remarkable for the bitterness it directed at the Russian leadership.
"I'm here to pay with my personal humiliation for the humiliation of the state," said Dmitri Beketov, an actor who joined about 100 demonstrators to demand Russia's capitulation to the 40 Chechen terrorists holding the hostages.
Ms Yevegeniya Aistova, whose 18-year-old son Dmitri is a hostage, held up a banner outside the theatre demanding of the Kremlin: "Don't let them die."
"We are appealing to President Vladimir Putin to save our children," she said.
"I'm a simple citizen of this country and I want to believe in my country." She complained that the families of the hostages were receiving no help or support from the authorities.
Around 50 more protesters, mainly friends of the captives, rallied near the theatre against a possible assault on the building and demanded an end to the fighting in Chechnya.
"People are more important than politics" was the message of one banner, while others demanded "No assault" or "An end to the war in Chechnya". The protesters were faced off in front of the theatre by a security cordon.
But for all of the authorities' tough talk, many ordinary Russians said the government's most important duty by far was to ensure that all hostages came out safe and sound.
"It would be a shame if any lives were lost. Our government has a responsibility to prevent the tragedy, even if it means giving in to the terrorists' demands," said Oxana, a 40 year-old hairdresser.
Several of the theatre's actors joined the demonstrators and sang songs from the hit musical Nord-Ost (North East) which the theatre-goers had been attending when they were seized by the Chechen commando late on Wednesday.
In a side-street, dozens of empty buses were ready to drive the hostages away in case the Chechen commando released them.
There were considerably fewer bystanders near the theatre than on the previous day, however, as police removed most of them and cordoned off much of the area. Hundreds of policemen and riot unit forces were gathered near the theatre, supported by at least four armoured vehicles. The cynicism and resignation of ordinary Muscovites, long disgusted by the corruption of Russian public life, was increased by the perception that Mr Putin had failed to respond to the public mood.
Newspapers criticised his emphasis on the alleged international causes for the kidnappings and for failing to make an address to the nation. Muscovites took a dim view of Mr Putin's response to the crisis and its origins.
While the hostage drama was certain to fuel even greater Russian hostility and prejudice towards Chechens and other southern nationalities, it also looked likely to dent public support for Mr Putin and the war in Chechnya.
"This is all staged by the Kremlin," claimed Aleksei, an unemployed lorry driver. "Ever since Putin came to power there has been war, and he needs war. But this could go badly wrong for him."
- (Guardian Service)