The August curse is a perceived phenomenon in Russia, in which tragic events are felt to occur unusually often in the month of August. Many possible explanations have been presented for the phenomenon.
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Many journalists and experts have noted that, beginning in 1991, the most tragic events in Russia tend to take place in August.[1][2] Examples include many deadly accidents and incidents, terrorist attacks and two major wars.
There has been a lot of speculation in Russian media about possible explanations for the perceived phenomenon.[3]
It has been pointed out, that the fact that many people take vacations in August may be a factor: the vacations leave a power-vacuum which terrorists and malefactors can then exploit.[1] Yevgeny Nadorshin, chief economist at Trust Bank has pointed out, that for many of the events the fact that they take place in August is only a coincidence, but for some the phenomenon can be explained. For example, Nadorshin said that vacation and inattention were certainly key factors in the 2009 Nazran bombing.[1]
Some have also presented supernatural explanations for the August curse. Astrologist Yelena Kuznetsova said in 2009, that the chaos will likely continue until mid-September because of the relative positions of Saturn and Uranus, and that Russia's horoscope is directly connected to the annual August turmoil.[3]
The usually hot weather of August has also been named as an explaining factor.[4]