There is always a bitter taste to words of condolence. The most heartfelt sympathy won't return a life that has been lost, but these words are for the living, so that they might feel a little less alone in their pain and know that our thoughts are with them.

We grieve for those who lost loved ones and we feel for all those who were affected by the tragedy at "Nord-Ost": the hostages, their friends and families.

And we are happy for those who survived the ordeal and, as one former hostage said, "were given a second life."

It would be no exaggeration to say that the whole nation felt as if it had been freed when the news broke that the theater had been stormed.

Throughout those three days, all Russians were glued to the news, hardly noticing the time pass from one broadcast to the next. We watched events with impatience and trepidation and learned to appreciate what it means when they say, "no news is good news."

But after the initial sigh of relief that the storm had succeeded, the sorrowful tally began to climb.

First 30 estimated dead, then 67. By Saturday evening, the toll had reached 90, and on Thursday it was 119 and still climbing.

And let's pray that it finally stops, letting us also remember the other, fortunately far more numerous tally of those who survived and are now returning to their families.

Echoes of this tragedy will haunt us for a long time to come. Several dozen people are still missing. Perhaps they are still unconscious and unidentified in hospitals. Perhaps they are being held and checked by the secret services, which did say they suspected the terrorists had assistants among the audience.

But it is also possible they can no longer speak at all and that their names will be added to those of the other victims.

Doctors warn that after stressful situations like this, the initial euphoria at being rescued often gives way to depression. This is the delayed effect. In a way, the whole nation was taken hostage, and the whole nation will feel the aftermath.

During the tragedy, the whole country, even the politicians, pulled together. But the moment it was over, quarrels and intrigues pushed their way to the surface again.

Politicians first to return to normal

The hostage drama forced politicians to quell their usual squabbling natures, but the moment the storm was over, everything was back to normal. What's more, many were tempted to use the tragedy for their own PR campaigns.

Debate immediately got under way in the Duma. SPS (Union of Right Forces) and Yabloko proposed establishing a parliamentary commission to investigate the events, especially the legality of using a sleeping gas in a situation where it endangered so many people's lives.

The commission proposal was initially presented as a joint initiative by the right and centrist factions, but the centrists hastened to distance themselves from the idea.

The proposal first arose before the storming of the theater, in fact, but it was not very clear exactly what it should focus on.

Following the storming and initial showing of unity, the centrists hurried to resume their traditional position of loyal followers of the Kremlin, while the right resumed its usual critical stance.

Even while the drama was still going on, it turned out to be too much for some politicians to keep silent.

The shower of comments from politicians got the Kremlin so irate as to demand that they refrain from making more statements.

After the Na Dubrovke was stormed, the words began to flow again. Those who took part in the events were obviously most in the limelight.

SPS leaders Boris Nemtsov and Irina Khakamada, well-known singer Iosif Kobzon and former head of the Customs Committee and leader of the Moscow Chechen diaspora Valery Draganov took part in negotiations with the terrorists and shared their impressions on television.

The Kremlin saw this as political PR. When he met with Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky, who also took part in the negotiations, President Vladimir Putin thanked Yavlinsky for not following their example.

Even before these events, rumors had been circulating that Yavlinsky would be invited to join the government.

One potential post – head of Gosstroi, the state construction agency – did not come through. Gosstroi head Anvar Shamuzafarov was finally dismissed, as long predicted, but was replaced by Nikolai Koshman, who, among other things, served as Russian government representative in Chechnya.

Yavlinsky rose in Putin's esteem during the hostage crisis and it is still possible that Putin could try to bring Yavlinsky into the government.

Yavlinsky himself said that to join the government he would have to receive an offer he couldn't refuse.

Ekaterina Larina is assistant editor of The Russia Journal
(E-mail Katya at katya@russiajournal.com)