Exiled Russian lawyer Boris Kuznetsov states in an RFE/RL piece that Russia changed after the August 2000 sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine. During the incident, Russia botched the rescue process, 118 people died and the government tried to cover up its incompetence. Kuznetsov said the submarine disaster was Putin’s first big lie. It was also when Putin’s government began controlling the mass media and undermining democracy.