HAVANA, Cuba — Dianis, a 28-year-old Cuban, and her daughter Adenys, 13, combined their blouses in black to resemble the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan. Both smile impatiently in a long line to board the Gorshkov frigate, as hundreds have already done.
The mother and daughter have been waiting in line for three hours next to Havana Bay, where a Russian Navy flotilla has been located since June 12, which includes a modern frigate and the submarine. But the wait matters very little to them.
“It’s something quite exciting. It’s a unique opportunity for many people and it’s something super nice,” the mother, who found out about the visits a day before after leaving work at the Museum of Fine Arts in the Cuban capital, tells EFE. .
Since last Thursday, the queues of curious people have not stopped despite the bad weather. The Gorshkov frigate was open to the public from 12:00 (16:00 GMT) to 16:00 (20:00 GMT). This Saturday is the last day to board the ship.
However, many, like Dianis and Adenys, went to the bay thinking that they could board the Kazan submarine.
One of them is Ariana, 59 years old, who has been waiting her turn with her husband and two daughters since nine in the morning. The entire family is from the Havana municipality of Regla, and they had to take a boat to get to the line.
“I think we’re not going to be able to enter and I don’t see any organization,” he complains to EFE, although he consoles himself by seeing Kazan from a distance. His face suddenly changes when he learns that he alone will be able to board the ship.
Despite that, her husband encourages her and reminds her that the important thing is to have a good time, just as a few drops of rain begin to fall.
THE RUSSIAN FLEET
The Russian fleet in Cuba includes the tanker Pashin, the frigate Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker. They will all be in Havana until June 17.
Two days after the arrival of the Russian ships, the US Southern Command reported the presence of its war submarine in Guantánamo Bay (Cuba) as part of its “routine” tasks.
This week Washington said the Russian flotilla does not pose a threat to US national security.
In that sense, the Government of Cuba declared on Friday that it dislikes the presence of a United States war submarine in Guantanamo Bay because visits by naval means result “from an invitation and this is not the case.”
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