Submariner Day marked in Russia

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Itar Tass
March 19, 2005

MOSCOW, Submariner Day is marked in Russia today.

Ninety-nine years ago, emperor Nikolai II by his decree declared the submarine fleet an independent force.

The date was marked officially until 1917, and the holiday was restored by the decree of the Navy commander in chief in 1996.

The St. Petersburg club of submariners on Saturday invited guests for the exhibition organised in memory of the Komsomolets submarine crew. Crewmembers who survived, relatives of the dead and Navy veterans gathered in the club to see the exhibition and honour the dead. The Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea in 1989. Forty-two of the crewmembers died in the disaster.

Flowers were laid in Kursk at the monument to the crew of the Kursk submarine, which sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000.

Flowers and wreaths were also laid at the graves of submariners who were buried during World War II.

Commemoration ceremonies were also held in other Russian cities on the day.


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