In Beslan, North Ossetia, Russian Federation, it’s the first day of school, as in all the republics of the federation and its satellites. It’s the Day of Knowledge, Den’znanja, a kind of national holiday since the days of the USSR. Beslan School Number One is filled with people: students, teachers, principals, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, grandparents. A commando of Chechen terrorists bursts like an alien force into this joyful scene and transforms it into the worst nightmare.
