Moscow health officials today confirmed that two victims of last week’s hostage crisis died of gunshot wounds, and that the rest were killed by a noxious gas used by Russian special forces.

Moscow’s chief prosecutor claims 45 theatre hostages died from gunshot wounds, Interfax news agency reports.

The governor of Russia's Far Eastern region of Magadan has been shot on a busy Moscow street.

Moscow police were ordered on high alert today after Russian skinheads went on a racist rampage in a market, killing two people.