The events surrounding the sinking of the Russian submarine K-141 – the Kursk – and the tragic loss of its crew have produced extensive speculation and analysis in the West and in Russia. Some observers attach symbolic importance to the disaster, which encapsulated, so it is claimed, the legacy of the Soviet past: the decline of military power, the loss of status in the world, the anti-democratic nature of the system, the persistence of a Soviet–era mentality of secrecy and suspicion, and a lack of due care and regard for citizens.
