When Ustinov closed the criminal case without filing charges, [ citation needed] family members were angry. Retired Russian Navy Captain Vladimir Mityayev, who lost a son on Kursk, said "To me, this is a clear case of negligence." [83] In the end, no one was blamed for the disaster and no one was held responsible. [20] :34 Alternative explanations [ edit ]

During the original exercise, the Russians required each of their submarines to stay within a specified area. This protocol was intended to eliminate the possibility of a collision and to allow surface ships to detect the presence of a Western spy sub. The whole scene was captured by the TV crew, but it was not televised within Russia. Foreign media showed Tylik being removed by officials from the meeting. [20] :36 [65] Tylik later criticised President Putin because he "did not answer direct questions" at the meeting. "Maybe he did not know what to say, but we did not receive concrete answers to concrete questions," she said. [63] [66] Tylik told The St. Petersburg Times that she would go to any lengths to learn the truth about the submarine disaster: "They told us lies the whole time, and even now we are unable to get any information," she said. [63] What followed was a media storm, with accusations of a cover up and a major political misfire by the newly elected President Vladmir Putin, who had refused to cut short his holiday while his submariners were dying.The nuclear-powered Project 949A Antey (Oscar II class) submarine K-141 Kursk sank in an accident on 12 August 2000 in the Barents Sea. It was taking part in the first major Russian naval exercise in more than 10 years. All 118 personnel on board were killed. The crews of nearby ships felt an initial explosion and a second, much larger explosion, but the Russian Navy did not realise that an accident had occurred and did not initiate a search for the vessel for over six hours. The submarine's emergency rescue buoy had been intentionally disabled during an earlier mission and it took more than 16 hours to locate the submarine, which rested on the ocean floor at a depth of 108m (354ft).

The use of so-called HTP (High Test Peroxide), which supplies oxygen to the torpedo's engine, had been stopped in British submarines in the 1950s after a series of accidents, although no one could quite explain why the substance (which is not flammable and does not mix or react with fuel) could cause an explosion. The rescue ship Altay attempted to attach a Kolokol diving bell to the sub, [35] but was unsuccessful. [11] Russian Navy headquarters in Moscow told media that rescuers had heard tapping from within the boat's hull, spelling "SOS... water", [11] although the possibility of hearing tapping through the double hull was later discounted. Other reports said the sounds had been misinterpreted or were made up. [28]Stradling now believes the Sidon accident happened because the pipe containing the HTP blew open, spraying the inside of the torpedo with superheated water, pure oxygen and pressurised hydrogen peroxide which had nowhere else to go.