August curse

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.

Overview

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.

Explanation attempts

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]

Examples

• 19–21 August 1991: Soviet coup d'état attempt
• 29 August 1996: Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 crashes in Norway, killing everyone on board
• 31 August 1996: The First Chechen War ends, with the Chechens declaring victory.
• 17 August 1998: Russian financial crisis
• 2 August 1999: Invasion of Dagestan, begin of Second Chechen War
• 31 August 1999: The first attack of the Russian apartment bombings.
• 12 August 2000: Kursk submarine disaster, 118 dead.
• 19 August 2002: Crash of a military helicopter in Chechnya, 115 dead.
• 1 August 2003: Suicide bomber drives a truck with explosives into a military hospital in North Ossetia. 44 dead, 79 wounded.
• 24 August 2004: 2004 Russian aircraft bombings, 89 dead.
• 22 August 2006: Flight 612 plane crash, 170 dead.
• 13 August 2007: Bomb attack on a train between Moscow and St. Petersburg
• 7–12 August 2008: 2008 South Ossetia war
• 17 August 2009: Two planes collide during rehearsals for an air show in Moscow, 2 dead, 3 injured.
• 17 August 2009: Terrorist bombing in Nazran.
• 17 August 2009: Accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro plant.
• 29 July 2010 - 13 August 2010: 2010 Russian wildfires.
• 29 August 2011: Russian parliamentary election campaign; ended with widespread protest activity started
• Mid-August 2013: Heavy floods in the Russia's Far East

See also

• Apophenia

References