Grieving families of the crew of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk returned to the vessel's Arctic home port today for a memorial ceremony marking the anniversary of its sinking.
Explosions sank the Kursk on August 12th last year, killing all 118 men on board. A 10-day failed rescue effort at the bottom of the sea gripped Russia and the world, and led to widespread criticism of the Russian navy's handling of the affair.
Sunday's anniversary will be marked by memorial services in the Kursk's home port - the small closed naval town of Vidyayevo - and in St Petersburg, Russia's second city, where two of 12 bodies recovered last year have been buried.
Russian officials have yet to offer a full explanation of what caused the submarine to sink, although official versions strongly suggest faulty torpedos were to blame.
A first blast of a torpedo on board triggered the rest of the arsenal to explode, the second blast ripping apart the submarine's bow, officials say.
Officially the cause of the first blast is not known, but theories that the Kursk struck another vessel or a World War Two mine have generally been dismissed. Two engineers from a torpedo factory were sailing with the Kursk, but officials have denied they were testing a radically new device.