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Russia Mourns Kursk
Russia held a day of mourning on Wednesday to remember the 118 sailors who died in the submarine Kursk on the floor of the Barents Sea.
President Vladimir Putin faced the wrath of sailors' families late on Tuesday in the northern Russian naval base of Vidyayevo where the Kursk began its final mission.
Criticized for what many saw as a casual approach to the disaster and a failure to prod generals into action, Putin struggled at times to make himself heard.
``When will we get them back, dead or alive? Answer as the president,'' shouted a woman in the crowd, referring to the bodies of the sailors, in clips on state-owned RTR television.
``I will answer as I know it myself,'' said Putin, dressed in black and looking somber. The rest of his remarks were lost due to the noise of the crowd and the bad quality of the tape.
As Putin spoke, the Russian flag over the Kremlin was lowered to half mast as a symbol of national mourning.
Television and radio stations halted their regular light entertainment broadcasts and local authorities canceled shows and concerts.
``It is impossible to believe it is all over,'' Interfax quoted Putin as telling the crowd of up to 600 relatives and local residents. ``The grief is immeasurable, no words can console. My heart is aching but yours much more so.''
Interfax said some of the sailors' families wanted to cast wreaths on the Barents Sea, above the spot where the wreck lies at a depth of 108 meters (354 feet). Putin might put to sea with them, it reported.
Environmentalists have called for the Kursk to be lifted from the seabed, fearing possible radioactive contamination from its reactors which are likely to have been damaged by the blast that wrecked the submarine on August 12.
Russia has said its main concern is to recover the bodies, but its navy lacks the deep-sea diving equipment to carry out such an operation. The Norwegian firm whose divers opened the Kursk's hatch on Monday has agreed to study how to salvage the sub or bring up the bodies, both projects fraught with risk.
The Kursk's designers, meanwhile, said they were working on how to lift the vessel and transport it to shallower waters. Experts have said such a complex operation could take months.
The loss of the Kursk and its crew has been felt as a national tragedy in Russia where people tracked every development in the rescue operation, clinging to the hope that at least some of the 118 sailors would survive.
Interfax news agency said the hundreds of relatives and servicemen gathered in Vidyayevo were allowed free access to Putin. RTR said the Kremlin leader had promised to answer all of their questions.
Many people at the meeting, which lasted several hours and continued well beyond midnight, were harshly critical of the military's handling of the failed rescue.
Putin acknowledged the North Sea fleet's rescue service was in a poor state but added no commanders would be prosecuted unless their guilt was in no doubt, Interfax said.
Top military commanders have taken the extraordinary step of making full, formal apologies on national television. Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev issued a statement on Tuesday: ''We have failed to protect them. Forgive us.''
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