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Kursk sinking: Russia marks 15th anniversary | Kursk sinking: Russia marks 15th anniversary |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Russia has been marking 15 years since the Kursk nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea, with the deaths of all 118 men on board. | Russia has been marking 15 years since the Kursk nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea, with the deaths of all 118 men on board. |
Memorial services have been taking place, with flags lowered in ports and cities with links to the tragedy. | |
The sinking was a major challenge for Vladimir Putin, then the newly elected as president, who faced criticism for not calling in international help. | |
But a recent poll suggests increasing support for how he responded. | |
It was 11:28 local time when the first powerful blast ripped through the Kursk on 12 August 2000. A torpedo had exploded during an exercise. | |
The blast at sea was detected by international monitors. But, for two days, Russia kept silent about the disaster and President Putin stayed on holiday. | |
He returned to insist that Russia could manage the highly sensitive rescue operation alone: the Kursk had been the pride of the Russian fleet. | |
But it proved complicated. In the end, it was Norwegian divers who managed to open the submarine hatch and by then the entire crew had perished. | |
A note found on one of the men revealed that 23 crew members had survived the initial explosions, but died waiting for help. | A note found on one of the men revealed that 23 crew members had survived the initial explosions, but died waiting for help. |
At the time, media reports were highly critical of how the crisis was handled. Russians were glued to their TV screens, following every twist of the increasingly desperate rescue operation. | |
The coverage included footage of grieving women, screaming at a very uncomfortable-looking President Putin. | |
For some, that marked a turning point. | |
Today, television news is almost entirely under state control and reporting on the anniversary has been limited. | |
Most news reports about the disaster on Wednesday were short and low down the bulletins, and all hint of blame and criticism had vanished. | |
The reports primarily marked the men's passing and the fact that they received the Order of Courage posthumously. | |
"Fifteen years have passed, but the pain does not fade. Nothing can replace my son," Nadezhda Shalapinina told military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda. | |
Her son, Alexei Nekrasov, was 19 and the youngest crew member on board. | |
Nadezhda still keeps his bedroom as it was the day he left it. | |
The newspaper makes no reference to who she blames, although Alexei survived the initial explosions and flood. | |
He was one of 23 crew discovered in the 9th section of the Kursk where they had huddled, waiting to be rescued. | |
The official version says the men died that same day, poisoned by fumes. Other reports have suggested they survived for two days or more. | |
Meanwhile a new poll by the Levada Centre, a Russian research organisation, has revealed how the national mood has changed. | |
An increased number of Russians believe that Mr Putin handled the crisis correctly. | |
At the time of the sinking, 72% of people asked thought that Russia could have done more to save the crew of the Kursk. | |
Fifteen years on, just 38% are critical. | |
As for refusing international help - until it was too late - the number supporting that decision has almost doubled. | |
A full, official report into the tragedy has been classified, until 2030. |
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