#1 - JRL 6409
Putin Presides at Icon Ceremony
August 28, 2002
By JIM HEINTZ
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) - In a symbolic gesture of support to the troubled Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, President Vladimir Putin presided Wednesday at the presentation to the fleet of an icon and remains of one of Russia's most revered naval commanders.
The presentation of the icon of Adm. Fyodor Ushakov was a reminder to Russians that their navy, now underfunded and still reeling from the sinking of the nuclear submarine Kursk two summers ago, once was potent.
Ushakov, whom the Russian church made a saint last year, was one of the most famous commanders of the 18th and 19th centuries. He was known for bold and innovative tactics during the Russian-Turkish war of 1788-91 and in Russia's war with Napoleonic forces in Italy.
In that conflict, Ushakov became famous for his sea assault on the fortress of Corfu, for which he was promoted to admiral.
The gold and silver box containing remains of Ushakov, with an icon of him affixed to the lid, was presented to the fleet in a ceremony on the steps of the fleet headquarters building, where Putin watched as priests in blue-and-gold brocaded vestments chanted and a choir sang.
A crowd of several hundred people watched from the nearby embankment, where gray fleet warships were docked amid rust-caked fishing trawlers and a few pleasure boats.
Putin made no remarks during the ceremony on the final day of his six-day trip to Vladivostok. Earlier in the trip, Putin met with sailors on a warship and said the navy had been given particularly short shrift in recent years as the military struggles with funding and promised that the Kremlin is working to improve conditions.
In recent years, hundreds of naval ships have been decommissioned, others are in poor repair and exercises and other operations have been limited.
Also during the trip to the Russian Far East, Putin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for talks that he said focused on improving economic ties with the isolated country that is undertaking new economic reforms.
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