Russia marks 15-year anniversary of Kursk submarine tragedy

MOSCOW, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Russia marked the 15-year anniversary Wednesday of the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster in which all 118 crew men aboard died.

The most modern of the Russian Northern Fleet's nuclear submarines, the Kursk was hit by two explosions within two minutes during a routine military exercise on Aug. 12, 2000. Of the 118, 95 crew members died immediately. The remaining 23 submariners managed to survive the two explosions and take shelter in the stern compartment, where they stayed alive for eight more hours, Russia Beyond the Headlines reported.

Memorial services took place Wednesday as flags were lowered in ports and cities throughout the country. The tragedy was seen as one of the first major challenges for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who assumed the presidency less than a year prior, BBC reported.

While the blast at sea had been detected by international monitors, Russia kept silent for two days and Putin did not return from a scheduled holiday.

At the time, media reports were critical of how the tragedy had been handled.

Just days after the disaster, 72 percent of Russians said that more could have been done to save the crew of the Kursk. In a recent poll by the Levada Center, a Russian research organization, the number went down to 38 percent.

A full, official report into the tragedy has been classified until 2030.