On the morning of Aug. 12, 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk steamed into the Barents Sea, an arm of the Arctic Ocean. The Kursk was an Antey-class submarine, known by the NATO reporting name Oscar II. The Oscar IIs were 508 feet long, twice the length of a 747, and powered by two OK-650 nuclear reactors that gave them a top speed of 33 knots. The submarines were armed with 24 P-7000 Granit missiles, which were 33 feet long and weighed 15,400 pounds each, enough to severely damage an aircraft carrier, according to Popular Mechanics. Along with 30 ships and two other submarines, the Kursk was participating in the “Summer-X” exercise, the first large-scale naval exercise planned by the Russian Navy since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Putin’s callous response to the ordeal demonstrates his inability to responsibly handle major crises. The Kursk disaster ignited a firestorm of political backlash. It was a humiliating loss for the Russian Navy, which was seeking to re-assert its dominance on the global stage. It was also a devastating blow for Vladimir Putin’s public image, as Putin had recently succeeded Boris Yeltsin as the president of Russia and had only been in office for four months. Putin continued his vacation at the seaside resort of Sochi upon being notified of the incident, and chose to meet with families 10 days after the incident had occurred. During the meeting, Putin was aggressively accosted by grieving mothers and widows, who asked questions like: “Do you believe our men are still alive?” and “Why have you murdered our lads?" One mother was forcibly sedated after accusing Putin of lying and threatening him with murder, according to The Guardian.