Moscow has been rocked by two explosions targeting its metro system. About 40 people have died and many more have been injured.
 
The first blast hit the Lubyanka station close to the headquarters of the FEderal Security Service (FSB) - the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.

The second attack happened around 40 minutes later at Park Kultury station in the south west of the city.

Officials say the attacks were carried out by two female separatist fighters from the North Caucasus region.

Monday's bombings have reignited fears that the Muslim insurgency is once again targeting the country's capital, but how much is Russia itself responsible for tensions in the region?
 
Inside Story, with presenter Shiulie Ghosh, discusses with guests Alexei Malashenko, a scholar on religion, society and security at the Carnegie Centre for International Peace, Alexander Nekrassov, a Russian affairs analyst who served as an advisor to Boris Yeltsin, the former president of Russia, and Richard Weitz, the director of the Hudson Institute's Centre for Political and Military Analysis.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Monday, March 29, 2010.