Such words were understandable. Two terrorist bombings, one at a railway station, the other aboard a crowded bus, recently rocked Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad and the site of a historic battle during World War II.

Thirty-four people died in the blasts, and dozens were wounded.

Volgograd sits some 600 miles (966 kilometers) southeast of Moscow—and 420 miles (676 kilometers) from Sochi, Russia's showcase for the most extravagant Olympic Games in history, set to begin on February 6.

News of the attacks spread quickly, prompting Volgograd residents to abandon public transport and walk. A surge in mobile phone calls overloaded networks as unfounded rumors swirled of blasts elsewhere in this city of more than a million people.

The bombings cast a pall of grief over New