MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. About 500 people have been evacuated from the Bolshoi Theater in downtown Moscow after a bomb threat, a source in law enforcement told TASS on Tuesday.

"Currently about 500 people have been evacuated from the building of the theater outside. Specialists are working on site," the agency’s interlocutor said.

Earlier on Tuesday, an anonymous message was received that an explosive device had been allegedly placed in the Bolshoi Theater building at 1 Teatralnaya Square. Emergency specialists and sniffer dogs were dispatched to the site to check the information. It was reported that about 250 people were evacuated in order to ensure their safety.

A wave of bomb threats began pouring into numerous Russian cities in November 2019. Anonymous individuals have been sending e-mails containing warnings about possible explosions in courts, schools, shopping centers, stores and universities. Since March 3, those threats also have been targeting airplanes. Not a single one of them has been confirmed. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported blocking five foreign resources which were a source of thousands of false bomb threats.​