Chronicle of a world that no longer exists, twenty years are few to measure the distance between the Maddalena summit on 30 August 2003 aboard the missile cruiser Moskva and the days of anguish that the world is experiencing today. The great warship, the pride of the Russian Federation, the cruiser where world leaders have spoken of peace on several occasions, is now at the bottom of the Black Sea, torn apart by two Neptune missiles.
On the morning of August 30, 2003, the picket of honor of the Russian sailors of the Moskva greeted the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, expected for the summit with Vladimir Putin. The missile cruiser entered the bay of Santo Stefano leading a team of three ships (a destroyer and a support ship also arrived in La Maddalena). To make room for Russian warships, US Emory Land left the island used as a base for US nuclear-powered submarines. The contents of the Putin-Berlusconi summit are impressive, seen with today's eyes.
"She is a ship of peace"
The Italian premier said: «The visit made this morning to the cruiser Moskva is the result of the decision to include the Russian Federation in the NATO Council. Until recently it would have been unthinkable to see Russian ships moored in the bay of Santo Stefano, but also to move American ships to make room for those of the former Soviet Union, which today participate in joint maneuvers with those of NATO countries ".
Putin also spoke a language of peace: "Russia has nothing to fear from a strong European defense policy, on the contrary we support it and we want it to be clear and transparent". Putin also brought the huge, and useless, Beriev 200 firefighting plane as a dowry. A plane too big for the launches of retardant liquid in the gorges of the Sardinian hinterland. The Beriev participated in a few interventions, but did not impress the Civil Protection Department and was not purchased.
The climate, however, was one of peace. On board the cruiser there was talk of trade agreements, gas, the Balkans, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. A day of peace in the Archipelago, marred by news that now seems an omen, the sinking of the Russian submarine K 159 in the Barents Sea. Putin learned of the tragedy in La Maddalena, on Moskva. Twenty years have passed, peace is just a memory, while Putin thinks of his pride that has ended up at the bottom of the sea. And this scares the world
