. >> at the time, chechnya is fighting their second civil war to gain independence from russia.nds are not met, bariev says he will level the theater with everyone inside. >> translator: i kept looking at this bomb thinking, what if? where would we hide? the woman noticed my nerves and said, don't worry, if it explodes, everyone will get it regardless. >> now clear this is a life or death situation, the moscow theater siege becomes an international lead story. >> in moscow this evening, armed gunmen are holding hundreds of people hostage at a theater there. >> this journalist covers russia for the sunday times of london. he manages to reach bariev by cell phone and convinces the rebel leader to do a face-to-face interview. this news footage shows him as he makes his way inside. >> the atmosphere was very tense. i was put up against a wall with three or four ak-47s pointed at me. i was searched. i was led into a small storage room. >> translator: we have but one goal, to stop the war and to remove the russian army from chechnya. >> it was unprecedented. we're talking about 40 hea