Fears Over Olympics After Russia Bomb Attacks

Two suicide bomb attacks in two consecutive days in the Russian city of Volgograd have killed more than 30 people and stoked fears over security at the Winter Olympics.

Today's attack struck an electric trolley full of commuters during the morning rush hour. Sunday's attack struck the city's main railway station. An October bombing attack on the same city killed six people.

Volgograd is a key transportation hub in and out of the restive Caucus region in Southern Russia where there are a number of Muslim insurgent groups fighting for independence from Moscow.

Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov has asked his followers to "do their utmost to derail the Sochi Olympics," which he says are "Satanic dances on the bones of our ancestors."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered security to be tightened around the country, but fears are rising over possible violence at the Winter Olympics due to open in February in the city of Sochi, about 425 miles away from Volgograd.

Putin's suppression of the Chechen rebels helped cement his reputation early on, and he has staked his reputation and upwards of $50 billion on the Winter Olympics.

Here & Now’s Meghna Chakrabarti speaks with the BBC Russian services editor, Artyom Liss about the attacks.