Grigory Pasko: Ten Years after the Kursk
On August 12, 2000 the Russian nuclear submarine APL “Kursk” sank in the Barents Sea during exercises of the Navy’s Northern Fleet. In so doing the entire crew of the submarine, consisting of 118 people, died. In traditional Russian fashion, an investigation was opened and a criminal case was pursued for this accident, only to be terminated in July of 2002 for lack of a corpus delicti.
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We do not know the truth about the tragedy to this day.
Ironically, the decision to “classify” a military tragedy of this magnitude is actually the most direct route toward making sure that something similar occurs again. As such, these kinds of incidents with our nuclear submarines are repeated constantly, from year to year, and are likely to continue to be repeated. The accident on APL «Nerpa» is just one confirmation of the trend.
Perhaps has someone who dutifully and proudly served in the Navy, I take this anniversary very seriously. One would like to imagine that in civilized countries, after such an outrageous tragedy, certain parties would be held responsible and promptly resign, even with much lesser involvement in what had happened. But in our country they sit until the end or even receive a promotion.
A boat sank, but lies floated to the surface. Lies, just like these responsible persons who have gone for promotion, and like scum, do not sink. It is always floating.
The Kursk was supposed to have been beginning of the end of Putin, undone by the public outrage and his numerous, poorly calculated lies about the incident. But in the end, it was lies that saved him.
As the ship sank and the sailors drowned ever so painfully slowly, our dear president was enjoying a luxurious holiday in Sochi, marking the very first – but not the last – time of significant public criticism. The Kursk can be seen as a monument to Putin’s mendacity. There is even an element of cynicism – instead of forgetting completely about Sochi and vowing never to be seen there again on camera, Putin instead chose it as the location for his personal glory and the host of the olympiad.
These lies – serve as the initial and principal signature in everything.
Lies about a collision with a foreign submarine (supposedly this is what the Kursk’s torpedoes detonated from) were needed in order to hide the true reasons for the catastrophe – careless and negligent maneuvering and handling of weaponry being tested – a new torpedo-missile.
Insolent and cynical lies – a lying chronology of the events; an incomplete citing of the pre-death note of lieutenant-captain Dmitry Kolesnikov; lying to the faces of grieving families about the true objectives of the exercises and so on.
Lies about the precise quantity of those found on board…
Lies about the true state of the ships of the military-marine fleet [the navy–Trans.] – this is constant and habitual lies.
Brought in to voice the lies are the press-handymen Mamontov and Dygalo…
The death of the sailors of the Kursk is completely on Putin’s conscience – he was the supreme commander and it’s no doubt was on his order that a decision was not adopted on the prompt aid of foreign ships for the saving of the dying crew. They refused offers of foreign assistance for so long, and then only accepted once it was far too late.
Lies in what they said from the very beginning: there are none alive. But they still were.
Lies about the missile-torpedo, which in actuality – is yet another item of non-functional garbage like the Bulava.
Shevchuk, singing «Kogda konchitsya neft’, nash president umret» [When the oil ends, our president will die–Trans.]
(You can listen to the song here) is not right: he will survive someplace on a villa beyond the border. And he will die when his and his partners’-in-crime Big Lie comes to an end.
…But, methinks that even then they will survive. Because truth has one path, but lies – millions.
