MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - A memorial ceremony to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 2002 Dubrovka theater siege in which 130 hostages died has been held in Moscow.

Relatives of the victims attached photos to the walls of the theater, and brought flowers and candles to a memorial in front of the building.

"Five years have passed since the tragedy, but for us time stopped on October 26, 2002," a mother of one of the victims said.

After a minute of silence, a total of 130 white balloons, one for each victim of the siege, were released into the sky.

Aside from a range of high-ranking Moscow officials, the ceremony was attended by family members of victims of other terrorist attacks, including the 1999 Moscow and Volgodonsk apartment bombings, 9/11, the Beslan school siege, and others.

On October 23, 2002, about 40 terrorists took hostage an audience of over 912 people at a Dubrovka theatre performance of the musical Nord-Ost. The terrorists demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya.

After three days of appeals and negotiations, Russian security forces used an undisclosed gas to disable terrorists before they could carry out their threat to blow up the hall.

The Russian authorities say 39 terrorists were killed in the raid, and 130 hostages died of effects of the gas. There is some dispute amongst survivors of the siege as to the exact number of terrorists involved.

President Putin praised the operation to free the hostages, also asking forgiveness from the nation for being unable to save more.