Web Site Shows History of Russia's Submarine Fleet
The Moscow Times
Put together by former submariners and naval experts, submarina.ru documents the history of the Russian submarine fleet with a host of online features including a photo gallery, history section and even a little poetry.
The photo gallery spans Russian and Soviet submarine history, all the way back to images of the pre-Revolutionary Imperial navy. The section also features shots of Soviet submarines from 1930 to 1940, including the Leningrad C-56, which is still in service.
Just click on the name of the submarine to get a closer look.
The "Book of Memory" section logs all the Soviet and Russian submarines that have gone down -- including the Kursk -- along with some information on the incident and a list of the sailors who perished.
The site has a news section, but most of the "news" has a decidedly literary tone, with one author waxing poetic about how the submariner's home is sometimes located on the edge of the earth.
To the left of the page are some advertisements for books and movies about submarines. Clicking on the title takes you to the Ozone.ru web site, where orders can be placed.
By far the most surprising section is "Literature," which will dispel all notions of sailors as a heavy-drinking, foul-mouthed lot.
"Along the vessel Kostroma the water knocks, And through the antennas a star shakes, And we stand and smoke, we must hear the three minutes of silence," writes one poet/submariner.
A slightly absurd section of the web site shows models of submarines -- even though you can view a picture of the actual submarine in the site's photo gallery.
The "Important to Know" section tells a little bit about what a submarine is exactly and how it works.
The site also has a chat room so you can talk to other submarine enthusiasts.