# Explosives or Sugar? The Deadly Art of Distraction in Putin’s Russia - with Helena Merriman

An episode of [Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1484511465), 6 Mar 2026, 42 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdrl.fm/18db03/tracking.swap.fm/track/SxlTEPDY7xDg35RXkASs/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/c0ae8c6e-22f0-4e9b-ac1c-ae390037ac53/ee070b6a-b70d-4971-8c59-b404015b266d/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=7f5a4714-6b10-4ccf-a424-ae390037ac70

In 1999, a series of bombs explode in Russian apartments, killing hundreds and spreading panic. No one knows who is behind it. But when one device is spotted before it detonates, troubling questions emerge. Was it really a bomb? Why is the country's security service changing its story? And why are the people who probe too closely turning up dead? Tim Harford is joined by Helena Merriman, host of new BBC podcast The History Bureau - Putin and the Apartment Bombs, which charts the mysterious events surrounding the rise of Vladimir Putin, and asks why the real story sometimes gets missed. For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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