"A monument to Sevastopolites, who were killed in the Kursk tragedy has been unveiled at Sevastopol's Communard cemetery," the press service of the Black Sea Fleet reported.
The ceremony was attended by Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Navy Vice Admiral Igor Knyaz, Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Vice Admiral Alexander Tatarinov, relatives of the dead sailors, veteran submariners of the Black Sea Fleet, the city's residents and sailors of the two fleets.
The three-meter-high monument was made by the prominent sculptor of Sevastopol and People's Artist of Ukraine Stanislav Chizh. Moscow's administration had assigned funds for the construction of the monument.
"Day in day out the submariner displays heroism and sometimes the price he pays for that is his life. The tragedy that happened in the Barents Sea has left scars on everyone's heart. Today, when Russia celebrates the Submariner's Day, we are paying tribute to the memory of the sailors who sacrificed their lives for the good of the country," Alexander Tatarinov said.
The wreck of the Kursk atomic submarine on August 12, 2000 was a real tragedy in Russia. In Russian villages and cities people followed the course of a rescue operation, mourned for the dead and expressed condolences to the sailors' relatives. The history of Russia's atomic submarine fleet had seen only three submarine wrecks (out of the 245 effective subs). In all the three cases the reasons for the catastrophe were detected, and most of the crew were saved. The Kursk is the first Russian atomic submarine to have become a tomb for its crew for reasons undefined. The catastrophe in the Barents Sea has been the gravest tragedy in Russia's atomic submarine fleet.
