Russian President Arrives at Northern Fleet Base for "Kursk"

Putin in Murmansk

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at Russia's Northern Fleet base of Severomorsk late Tuesday to say farewell to the ill-fated crew of the nuclear submarine Kursk which went down to the Barents seabed on August 12.

At the airport, he met with Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who chairs the commission of inquiry into the sinking of the Kursk submarine, Russian navy commander-in-chief Vladimir Kuroyedov and Murmansk region Governor Yuri Yevdokimov.

From the airport, he drove to Severomorsk for a meeting with the fleet's command. Then, he flew to the town of Vidyayevo, where nearly 400 relatives of the dead crewmen are staying, to pacificate those grieved people.

Earlier, Russian Naval Commander Vladimir Kuroyedov presented a report on the submarine accident to Putin.

There is no exact plan of Putin's stay in Severomorsk, and the time of his return to Moscow is still unknown, the Interfax news agency reported.

Wednesday, Putin will go aboard the Pyotr Veliky (Great Peter) cruiser, anchored near the site where the Kursk sank, and lower a wreath there.

The president will also attend a series of memorial ceremonies in honor of the dead sailors.