"I am here to see how preparations for the dismantling of the Kursk are progressing and to see what should be done to get the colossus from the dock", Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in Roslaykovo. The phrase would have been all right but...

The Kursk is being prepared for dismantling in accordance with plans drafted by the Rubin Design Bureau and not the Defense Ministry. As defense minister, Ivanov should have kept an eye on finances. This is where problems arise.

It was known even before the minister's visit that Roslyakovo employees had not been paid since last October. The Finance Ministry disbursed everything to the Defense Ministry but the money never made it to the workers. When the matter made it to the media, naval spokesman Igor Dygalo said that 10 million rubles had been sent to Roslyakovo. He must have either been lying or telling the truth, but the money never made it to Roslyakovo. Representatives of the factory announced that the Kursk would never leave the territory of the factory unless the government paid the workers 10.5 million rubles worth of wage debts.

The salvaging operation cost $150 million. The foreigners involved got their money on time.