For President Vladimir Putin, the Kursk crisis was not merely a human tragedy, it was a personal PR catastrophe. Twenty-four hours after the submarine's disappearance, as Russian naval officials made bleak calculations about the chances of the 118 men on board, Putin was filmed enjoying himself, shirtsleeves rolled up, hosting a barbecue at his holiday villa on the Black Sea.
Several days later, amid growing international concern for the submariners trapped inside with dwindling oxygen supplies, he was still on holiday. Few Russians have forgiven him for the extraordinarily flippant remark he made when he finally gave his assessment of what had happened to the Russian navy's $1bn flagship. Sun-tanned and relaxed, he smiled and said: "It sank."
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