"The catastrophes that happened in the evening of Tuesday August 24, 2004 in the Tula and Rostov regions claimed many lives," says the decree. "Deeply grieving the victims and expressing condolences to their relatives, I decree that August 26, 2004 shall be the day of mourning in the Russian Federation." On that day, the national flags will be lowered everywhere in the country and culture facilities and radio and television companies have been recommended to cancel entertainment programmes. The government and the bodies of state authority in the Federation members have been instructed "to take requisite measures to help the families of the victims."
The Tu-154 plane of Sibir Airlines that made Flight 1047 Moscow-Sochi from Domodedovo crashed 138km from Rostov-on-Don at 10:35 p.m. Moscow time August 24. It had 46 people on board, including eight crew.
The Tu-134 plane of Volga-Avia that made Flight 1303 Moscow-Volgograd flight took off from Domodedovo at around 10:00 p.m. and disappeared from the radars at 10:56 p.m. Moscow time August 24 in the vicinity of the settlement of Buchalki, Klimov district of the Tula Region. It had 35 passengers and eight crew.
President Putin said at the conference in the Kremlin that assistance would be provided to the relatives of all victims. "We should do our best to help the people," he said.
Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov reported that the law enforcers were considering several versions of the crashes, including a terrorist attack. "We are considering several versions, including the possibility of a terrorist attack, technical malfunction, and human factor. We are not overlooking anything," said Ustinov.
Only the president can announce days ofmourning in Russia, as there are no laws that stipulate clear-cut rules for them. When making the decision on the day of mourning, the president takes into account the social repercussions of the tragedy and the number of victims.
