Russia Remembers Kursk's SailorsWeeping families tossed roses and carnations into the black water off an Arctic pier Sunday in memory of the 118 men who perished one year ago in the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine.As morning drizzle gave way to clear skies, the families observed a moment of silence in the small Arctic port of Vidyayevo before placing bouquets at a monument. Women sobbed and men wiped their eyes as a brass band played a dirge. Small children clung to their mothers' fingers. A new stone in honor of the 118 victims of the Kursk disaster was added to the simple hilltop monument that honors all Russian submariners lost at sea. The families later walked down to a pier and tossed flowers into the still water near to the hulk of another docked sub. A white motor launch sailed slowly nearby, carrying sailors in dress uniforms who tossed wreaths into the glassy sea. At precisely 11:32 a.m., the moment when explosions sank the Kursk, ships of the Northern Fleet lowered flags to half mast. A separate ceremony was held in the Serafimovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg, where two of 12 bodies recovered by divers last year are buried. The relatives later moved to a church in St. Petersburg, where they held candles for a memorial service, surrounded by hundreds of sailors and officers in dress uniforms. Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, commander of the navy and the highest-ranking official to attend the ceremony in Vidyayevo, told the mourning families that finding out the cause of the sinking remained "task No. 1." President Putin on Friday presented the widow of the Kursk's commander, Captain Grigory Lyachin, with the Hero of Russia medal. |
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