Generally, Chechen forces have targeted military and police forces. The bombing early this month of Russian military housing in Buinaksk killed 64 people, including members of military families. The target, though, was clearly a military installation. Chechen militants also have not attacked regions outside the ones they intend to claim - Dagestan and Chechnya. These reasons lead us to believe that the Islamic militants led by Basayev are not the perpetrators of the Moscow bombs.
Organized crime is another potential but improbable suspect.
Russian organized crime is motivated by profit and expansion. The mafiya is not known to commit mass murders, especially through such overt actions as bombs large enough to demolish entire apartment buildings. According to an FBI report, the Russian mafiya prefers economic crimes such as fraud, extortion, theft, drug trafficking and contract killing. The apartment building bombs were not tightly controlled to target one or a few specific targets. Reports of typical mafiya activities do not suggest that these explosions were coordinated by the Russian organized crime element.