August 12, 2025 marked the 25th anniversary of the death of the Kursk nuclear-powered submarine of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy in the Barents Sea. On this day, memorial services were held in the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk celebrated a litiya in Murmansk at the memorial to the sailors who died in peacetime, better known as the Kursk Bulwark. In prayer petitions, all 118 deceased crew members of the Kursk submarine were announced by name. Their faces are depicted on the unique icons of the complex, made and installed in 2020 with the blessing of Metropolitan Mitrofan.
The memory of the dead sailors was also honored in the village of Vidyaevo, where the submarine was based. Bishop Tarasy of Severomorsk and Umbs celebrated a requiem mass at the memorial complex "To the Sailors who Died in the Ocean."
The commemorative events in the Murmansk region were attended by representatives of local authorities, the command and military personnel of the Northern Fleet, representatives of enterprises, veterans and public organizations, and numerous residents of the region. Wreaths and flowers were laid at the monuments.
In Sevastopol, at the cemetery of Communards, on the site next to the monument to the fallen Sevastopol submariners, a funeral requiem was held. Their relatives and colleagues came to honor the memory of the dead sailors on this day. After the official speeches, flowers were laid at the monument to the fallen Sevastopol crew members of the Kursk submarine. The event ended with the passage of the honor guard company.
The memory of the Kursk submarine sailors was honored at the Serafimovsky Cemetery in St. Petersburg, where the largest burial of the submarine's crew members is located (32 submariners, including the commander of the Hero of Russia submarine, Captain First Rank Gennady Lyachin). A minute of silence was held in memory of the dead submariners. The first to lay flowers at the memorial in memory of the disaster were Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg, and Admiral Vladimir Vorobyov, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
Archpriest Alexy Sklyarov, rector of the St. Nicholas Epiphany Naval Cathedral, celebrated the requiem mass at the Cathedral bell tower chapel with the clergy. There is a commemorative plaque with the names of the crew members of the submarine and a capsule with soil from the place where it sank is stored here. After the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and laity marched in a procession to the chapel, where all the crew members were named during the service. Vladimir Ivanov, head of the city's department for cooperation with religious associations, Navy veterans, submariners and relatives of the victims were present.
A funeral ceremony in memory of the crew members of the Kursk submarine was held in Kursk. According to Alexander Khinshtein, the acting governor of the Kursk region, relatives of the victims, representatives of government and public organizations gathered for the memorial service.
The nuclear submarine Kursk of the Northern Fleet sank on August 12, 2000 during exercises in the Barents Sea. All 118 crew members died. For courage, heroism and bravery shown in the performance of military duty, the crew members were awarded the Orders of Courage (posthumously) by decree of the President of Russia, and the ship's commander, Captain I Rank Gennady Lyachin, was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously).