Red Sparrow / Kursk [2DVD] (English audio. English subtitles)

Product Information

On August 12, 2000, two underwater explosions sank the Kursk, Russia’s most technologically advanced submarine, plunging it 100m to the bottom of the Barents Sea. The second explosion was so big that it hit 4.2 on the Richter scale and was detected as far away as Alaska. Initially there were survivors – a reported 23 men trapped in the husk of the submarine – but after days of botched rescue attempts and stubbornness from the Russian Navy, the disaster had claimed the lives of all 118 crew members. Flynn, Ramsey (2004), Cry from the Deep: The Sinking of the Kursk, the Submarine Disaster That Riveted the World and Put the New Russia to the Ultimate Test. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0060936419 In October 2000, prominent television journalist Sergei Dorenko ran a one-hour special on the Kursk tragedy on Russia's national ORT television, then controlled by tycoon Boris Berezovsky. After enumerating the government's failures in its handling of the disaster, Dorenko ended the piece with this conclusion:

On 29 or 30 August 2000, an official government commission tasked with investigating the disaster announced that the likely cause of the sinking was a "strong 'dynamic external impact' corresponding with the 'first event'", probably a collision with a foreign submarine or a large surface ship, or striking a World War II mine. [7] They said that the exercise had been monitored by two American Los Angeles-class submarines— USS Memphis and Toledo—and the Royal Navy Swiftsure-class submarine HMS Splendid. Russian sources said that when the exercise was cancelled due to the accident, these vessels put in at European ports. [48] Size and mass comparison of Kursk and USS Toledo, which is less than half of Kursk 's displacement A consortium formed by the Dutch companies Mammoet and Smit International [23] was awarded a contract by Russia to raise the vessel, excluding the bow. They modified the barge Giant 4 which raised Kursk and recovered the remains of the sailors. [24] But the report of the secret Board of Inquiry into the Sidon disaster revealed some staggering new pieces of information. But these explanations seemed to contradict Russian claims about the Kursk's impregnability. It seemed inconceivable that the double hull and nine water-tight compartments of the submarine could have been punctured by anything but the most violent explosion.Kursk had a mythical standing. It was reputedly unsinkable and, it was claimed, could withstand a direct hit from a torpedo. [9] The outer hull was constructed using 8mm (0.3in) steel plate covered by up to 80mm (3in) of rubber, which minimised other submarines' or surface Fragments of both the outer and inner hulls were found nearby, including a piece of Kursk 's nose weighing 5t (5.5 short tons), indicating a large explosion in the forward torpedo room. [37] [38] British and Norwegian help [ edit ] The British deep submersible rescue vehicle LR5

Experience the history of the fateful voyage of K-141 KURSK that ended at the bottom of Barents Sea. Putin] was obligated to listen to the experts and the reports of the commanders and the reports of the naval command. ... And he did not," says lawyer Boris Kuznetsov.

The Americans have strenuously denied all the Russian allegations and said that none of their submarines reported any damage around the time the Kursk went down. In a final tantalising twist to the story of the Kursk, plans for the salvage operation may now make it impossible to verify the malfunctioning torpedo theory. No one was ever held responsible for the Kursk disaster. Kuznetsov said Putin made "a political decision" to protect Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, commander of the Navy. Kuroyedov offered to resign over the incident, but that offer was rejected and he was allowed to retire in 2005. Putin answers questions from the relatives of those who died when the Kursk sank in the northern town of Vidyayevo on August 22, 2000. He put the blame on Russia’s economic and military decline -- before he came to power. United States Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen responded to Russian accusations of a collision with a submarine at a press conference in Tokyo on 22 September 2000. [49] Putin dismissed the Northern Fleet's submarine commander, Vice-Admiral Oleg Burtsev, [6] :162 and in total removed 12 high-ranking officers in charge of the Northern Fleet. Paradoxically, he said their dismissal had nothing to do with the Kursk disaster, [13] [70] but that they had been responsible for "serious flaws in the organizations of the service." However, all 12 had been involved with the exercise, the rescue operations, or the submarine itself. [20] :34 All were transferred to equal positions elsewhere in the government or in the business sector. [73] International co-operation [ edit ]

What really happened to Russia's 'unsinkable' sub". The Guardian. 4 August 2001 . Retrieved 1 February 2014. The submarine sank after two blasts and sank only 350 feet below the surface. 23 crew were able to take refuge in the rear compartment and waited for help. However, it was too late. When the Norwegian divers opened the compartment, they were found dead, probably due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Other submarines have been lifted in the past, but none has been comparable in size to the giant, 18,000-ton Kursk, which exploded and sank in August 2000 during naval manoeuvres, killing all hands. What followed was a media storm, with accusations of a cover up and a major political misfire by the newly elected President Vladmir Putin, who had refused to cut short his holiday while his submariners were dying. Kudrik, Igor (3 March 2003). "Defuelled Kursk will join submarine graveyard". Oslo: Bellona Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007 . Retrieved 8 August 2007.

Featured in...

When the Russian government finally relented, and foreign rescue aid was allowed to be carried out five days following the accident, it was too late for the crew of the Kursk submarine. All 118 members had perished. Over four days, the Russian Navy repeatedly failed in its attempts to attach four different diving bells and submersibles to the escape hatch of the submarine. Its response was criticised as slow and inept. Officials misled and manipulated the public and news media, and refused help from other countries' ships nearby. President Vladimir Putin initially continued his vacation at a seaside resort in Sochi [1] and authorised the Russian Navy to accept British and Norwegian assistance only after five days had passed. Two days later, British and Norwegian divers finally opened a hatch to the escape trunk in the boat's flooded ninth compartment, but found no survivors. The Russian submarine Kursk took its name from the city of Kursk, where the battle of Kursk was fought. This battle which took place in 1943, is regarded as the biggest warfare in the army combat tanks.