It has been three years since 9/11, and during this time there no significant terrorist attack has occurred on American territory. Whether this is because of the effectiveness of the security system in the USA , the difficulty of operating under cover in America , or the fact that people like it so much in the States that terror cannot get a foothold, is difficult to say. The same cannot be said for Russia , which in a comparable period has lost hundreds of lives to terrorist attacks. In 1999 two housing blocks in Moscow were reduced to rubble leaving 213 dead, and prompting an uncompromising repression in Chechnya . During the Moscow theatre siege in October 2002 129 hostages died. Two female suicide bombers detonated themselves at a Moscow rock concert in July 2003 killing 15. After elections in December 2003 a female suicide bomber killed 6 in central Moscow . 40 people were killed on February 6, 2004 when a suicide bomber detonated himself in a subway car.

But in recent months, things have gone from bad to worse. On August 24, 2004 , terrorist suicide bombers brought down two passenger planes, killing all 90 passengers. One week later a suicide bomber killed 10 outside a crowded Moscow subway station. And, at the time of writing, the disaster at Beslan school led to the death of more than 300 people, half of them children. A litany of disaster and sorrow for the Russian people.

This string of disasters is unusual for any country, so what is going on in Russia ? On Christmas day 1991, at the time of the Uranus/Neptune conjunction, which takes place just once every 172 years, the Russian flag was raised over the Kremlin, symbolically marking its rebirth after 74 years of communism.

Chart for Russia - Flag-up: 25.12.1991 20.45 Moscow AS 25.16 Leo

This chart marks a strong departure from the 1917 Revolution chart (Note 1), which has a powerful and secretive T-square from Sun/Mercury in Scorpio to Saturn/Neptune in Leo and Uranus in Aquarius. However one major similarity between the two charts is the position of Flag-up Moon at 3.13 Virgo, on Revolution Mars at 2.58 Virgo. Transiting Uranus in Pisces from 2003 to 2004 has of course powerfully activated this Virgo position. In itself this indicates explosive and violent developments for the Russian people.

The 1991 chart also has Mars at 19.12 Sagittarius, which has been activated by transit Pluto over the last two years. Terrorism is the act of extremely small minorities using extremely brutal methods to attain results out of all proportion to their size, and these elements are very much part of the Pluto dynamic, which becomes exceedingly violent when aligned with Mars. The natural result of this is the transformation of a nation's military arm, so that it becomes more secretive and more repressive to cope with the threat. To some extent this is also happening in America , whose Mars at 21 Gemini is currently being opposed by Pluto. But it is most definitely happening in Russia , as Putin's latent autocratic nature begins to assert itself, and indeed is welcomed by the majority of the Russian people, who want a strong leader like Stalin, not a "good" leader like Gorbatchev.

It is an extraordinary thing - the chances are one in a million - but the US progressed Mars and the Russian (Revolution) progressed Mars BOTH move retrograde by progression in 2005, at 18.42 Libra and 3.04 Libra respectively. What does that mean? Two similarities that spring to mind are: the USA has overextended itself by invading Iraq , and its army is getting mired in an increasingly violent "terrorist" backlash in that country, and Russia has overextended itself in Chechnya and is suffering from its own "terrorist" backlash. Putin declared that the insurrection in Chechnya was over around the same time that Bush famously announce "mission accomplished" at his aircraft carrier photoshoot after the fall of Baghdad .

Logic would indicate that when Mars is stationary retrograde - a process that lasts many years - it shows an impossibility of making progress. It is brought to a halt. Only one direction is possible, and that is backwards. Whilst the planet is stationary, it is mired; later it can withdraw. Therefore we will see America locked in Iraq and Russia locked in Chechnya for a number of years, with a withdrawal likely probably around 2010 - 2011, when the Pluto/Uranus square hits the 1991 Russian Sun (and US Venus/Jupiter). This is a time that will bring other forms of upheaval worldwide because of the number of countries with important planets activated by the coming grand cross between Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto.

Looking at the progressions in the 1991 chart for Russia , it can be seen that the progressed sun reaches Uranus in 2001 and Neptune in 2004, so clearly this period is a time of upheaval, change and confusion for the newly reborn country. The awful outcome of the theater siege in 2002 eerily reflects the Uranus/Neptune conjunction in 1991 Russia 's 5th house - an explosive terrorist action at a place of entertainment ending in 150 deaths by gas poisoning.

On September 11th, 2001 that the Sun conjoined Russia 's Uranus to the minute of arc! With Uranus ruling Russia 's Descendant, it probably shows the US as Russia 's main partner and adversary, but the progressed conjunction showed them joined in mutual shock. With Putin's support for Bush's war on terror, Russia was freed of international criticism to escalate its own oppression in Chechnya.

Whatever plans Putin had for the subjugation of Chechnya , the escalation of terror in Russia has increased with the passage of the Sun over the Uranus/Neptune conjunction. The unfathomable tragedy of the school siege at Beslan took place as the Sun progressed conjoined Neptune (and progressed Neptune... within 6 minutes of arc). This was a pinnacle of despair for Russia... a sense that terrorism was unbeatable and that no measures could conquer it.

Chart for Beslan School siege - 1.09.2004 9.00 (approx) Beslan 43N12 44E33 AS 7.56 Libra

Source: The Guardian

This siege took place just after the downing of two Russian airliners, amongst other virulent terrorist attacks, and this is reflected by the applying Sun/Mars conjunction of August/September 2004, earlier opposing Uranus, and soon to square Pluto. In fact the siege Sun activates the Uranus/Pluto midpoint, showing the potential for insane destruction. This is the time when Venus in Cancer reaches Saturn, a conjunction that vividly illustrates the grieving families. The nodal axis at 3 degrees Taurus/Scorpio of this chart is on Putin's Ascendant/Descendant axis and Russia 's Sun/Moon midpoint, and indeed, when the transiting Moon conjoined the South Node, the siege disintegrated into mayhem and murder. The trigger for the series of explosions that reduced the school's gymnasium - where the hostages were crowded together in the summer heat - to ruins, was the passage of the MC over the Sun/Mars conjunction at 13.05 on September 3rd. As the explosive charges were detonated, the roof collapsed.

It is interesting to note that Putin's Moon is at 2.55 Gemini, exactly square 1917 Mars (3 minutes of arc) and 1991 Moon. This too has been triggered by transiting Uranus in Pisces, and the fact that schoolchildren were in the firing line is perhaps reflected by the Moon's position in Gemini and the 8th. Chiron stands exactly on the 3rd house cusp of education.

The reaction of Putin to this tragedy was typical. His point was that he had allowed a referendum in Chechnya in 2001, and the people of Chechnya voted to stay with Russia . The attack in Beslan had nothing to do with Chechnya , it was the work of international terrorism. He refused a public enquiry into the siege, promising only an internal enquiry behind closed doors. And looking a Putin's chart (Note 2) one can see why.

Chart for Vladimir Putin - 7 Oct 1952 9.30 St Petersburg AS 3.10 SC

I have previously commented on Putin's chart (Note 3) which, with Scorpio rising, Pluto/South Node on MC and the Moon in Gemini in the 8th, shows the information-gathering spy, which Putin once was. He spent his early years rising through the ranks of the KGB stationed in East Germany , before becoming vice mayor of St. Petersburg after the disintegration of the Soviet Union . Putin has a sixth degree black belt in judo, and has been training since he was 14, so - if world domination was decided by single combat - Russia would undoubtedly come out on top. The only other premier that might have compared was President Roosevelt, who achieved a rank of brown belt. What this means is that Putin is a fighter, and he is dedicated to winning. For the samurai, failure is not an option. Mars in his horoscope is on the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius, suggesting a masculinity elevated to the divine. (Note 4) The Mars/Pluto trine shows a person able to mobilize extreme willpower to achieve victory. His Mercury/Neptune conjunction constellates strongly with this trine, showing a subtle, secretive and ingenious mind. Putin says what is necessary to say under the circumstances - truth is a relative concept subservient to achieving supremacy. Nobody in their right mind would fight against Putin.

Still, there are times when even the most skilled samurai runs into trouble. Pluto, which has crossed 1991 Russia 's Mars during 2003 and 2004, will reach Putin's Mars during 2006-2007, casting him into a struggle for survival against formidable odds. People are not weakened by Pluto transits, but rather called upon to exhibit superhuman strength. At the same time, it can also be wise to cut your losses. Putin will fight power with power at this time. He may take losses, but he will survive. The danger is that the losses, bearable for him, will not be bearable for others. If his birth time is correct, 2006-2007 is the period of the Saturn/Neptune opposition from 19-22 Leo/Aquarius, right on Putin's Pluto, Nodes and MC/IC axis. This suggests that he will be ruling a country that is dissolving into a morass. Bearing in mind that Russia has always been sensitive to Neptune/Saturn cycles (Note 5), and that Putin himself was born during one, this is obviously going to be a difficult and testing time for both him and the country.

The prognosis is that the extreme manifestation of terrorism in Russia will continue until 2007, but will die off as the Sun progresses away from the Uranus/Neptune conjunction, and Pluto moves away from Russia's and Putin's Mars in Sagittarius. These terrorist atrocities are a reflection of the extreme transits and progressions of the last few years. Putin will achieve a measure of success in "winning the war on terrorism". On the other hand, there is no denying that the 1991 chart, with its Sun/Uranus/Neptune conjoining the nodal axis reflects a constant struggle to govern the ungovernable. As the Russian Uranus at 13.19 Capricorn is exactly square Putin's Sun at 13. 56 Libra, much of Putin's time as president will be spent coping with the unpredictable, and when Pluto conjoins this point in 2015, whist Uranus squares it (opposing Putin's Sun), Putin will leave the Russian stage.

Adrian Ross Duncan 17.09.2004

1. Russian Revolution (Storming of the Winter Palace ) 8.11.1917 2.12 St Petersburg 59N55 30E15

2. Theoretically Putin's data come from his birth certificate. There is however controversy about this, with some Russian astrologers pointing out that there were no birth certificates in Russia at the time of Putin's birth. His birth time should therefore be treated with caution. One argument for this time is that his Ascendant at 3 degrees Scorpio in exactly at 1991 Russia 's Sun/Moon midpoint.

3. See http://www.worldofwisdom.co.uk/04_articles/2000/05_putin.htm

4. The Galactic Centre is a black hole around which the Solar System revolves once every 2.25 million years. Those who think that Brad Pitt is a god will be interested to learn that his Sun is at 26 Sagittarius.

5. The Russian revolution, Stalin's death, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union all took place during at Saturn/Neptune conjunctions.