Vladimir Putin: President of Russia

Vladimir Putin: President of Russia — page 1

Vladimir Putin: President of Russia — page 2 — CHAPTERI A SUBMARINE SINKS On August 12 2000 newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin went on vacation Early the next morning he received a call from Russia's minister of defense Russia's newest nuclear submarine the Kursk had sunk It was designed to battle US aircraft carriers However a torpedo in the bow of the ship had misfired Many of the 113 people on board died immediately The explosion that occurred in the Barents Sea was felt as far away as Alaska

Vladimir Putin: President of Russia — page 3 — But 23 sailors had survived in a back compartment They waited to be rescued The Russian commanders did not tell Putin the truth at first They told him the submarine was missing Several days later the Russian navy admitted to the explosion They blamed it on a crash with another submarine The commanders were more interested in protecting submarine secrets than in saving survivors Putin continued his vacation Other countries offered to send help but Putin refused US President Bill Clinton finally persuaded Putin to accept help Within six hours of arriving on the scene British and Norwegian divers were able to open the submarine’s hatch The Russians had failed at the task for nine days Because of the delay those waiting to be rescued had died

Vladimir Putin: President of Russia — page 4 — КАМ ПОДВОДНИКАМ ОМ В МИРНОЕ ВРЕМЯ The control room of the Kursk was preserved as a monument in Murmansk Russia A Russian TV station criticized Putin for not acting faster The owner of the station Boris Berezovsky had once been Putin's mentor But Putin accused the channel of lying about him He ordered investigations into Berezovsky's past financial dealings Berezovsky fled the country to avoid arrest Eventually Putin took control of the television station He knew he could use the media to shape a positive image of himself By the end of his first year in office Putin controlled Russia's three major television stations

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