DATE=8/16/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIAN SUB / MILITARY
NUMBER=5-468861
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: One of Russia's largest and newest nuclear
submarines is lying on the bottom of the Barents Sea
with more than 100 sailors trapped on board. Rescue
operations are underway, but information is scarce and
contradictory about what happened and why. V-O-A
Correspondent Laurie Kassman in Moscow reports the
sinking is a blow to the prestige of Russia's military
establishment.
TEXT: The Kursk nuclear submarine is the pride of
Russia's dwindling nuclear fleet. Only five-years in
service, the 155-meter boat is known as a killer,
built to attack and destroy NATO aircraft carriers.
It was also considered invincible - until last weekend
when disaster struck during naval exercises in the
Arctic waters off Russia's northern coast.
Now, the Kursk lies crippled on the floor of the
Barents Sea, about 100-meters below surface. More
than 100-sailors and naval officers are trapped on
board. No one knows how many are still alive, but
officials say the oxygen supply will be exhausted by
Friday.
Military analyst Aleksander Goltz says the accident
has stunned the military establishment.
/// GOLTZ ACT ONE ///
The blow is more serious because there were long
talks about the bad state of the old Russian
submarines that were built in Soviet times. But
the problem is that the Kursk is the newest one.
/// END ACT ///
The Kursk disaster focuses attention once again on the
poor record of Russia's elite nuclear fleet. In 1989,
more than 40-sailors died when a nuclear attack
submarine sank off the northern coast of Norway after
a fire on board. Ten-people were killed in 1985 when
an explosion destroyed a ship repair facility.
Another nuclear submarine was scuttled after catching
fire off Russia's northern coast.
Government investment in the nuclear fleet has sharply
diminished during the past decade as defense budgets
have been slashed. Most of Russia's warships are
decaying in port.
Statistics show the size of the nuclear submarine
fleet is one-third of what it was a decade ago. The
U-S, Japanese, and Norwegian governments are providing
money to dismantle the unfit nuclear submarines and
prevent leakage of radioactive materials. Defense
experts also raise questions about the maintenance of
ships still in service.
It is still not entirely clear what happened to the
Kursk. At first, officials said it had collided with
another ship. On Tuesday, they said an explosion on
board had caused the submarine to sink to the bottom
of the sea.
Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer says an explosion
on board means human error on the scale of the
Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster.
/// FELGENHAUER ACT ONE ///
Right now it is all guesswork. But mechanical
failure that kills an unsinkable ship and an
explosion on board most likely has a human
component to it.
/// END ACT ///
Analyst Goltz says the official wall of silence is
also aimed at crushing criticism.
/// GOLTZ ACT TWO ///
If you do not speak about this, it looks like
nothing happened.
/// END ACT ///
Russian officials now are talking with NATO about
offers of help, but raise questions about the
compatibility of NATO and Russian systems.
Pavel Felgenhauer says it is also a question of pride
and secrecy surrounding the submarine's capabilities.
/// FELGENHAUER ACT TWO ///
They believed it to be practically unsinkable so
Russia wants to keep NATO as far away from the
ship as possible, so they do not learn how to
sink such ships.
/// END ACT ///
Less than one-month ago, President Vladimir Putin
proclaimed Russia's navy as the symbol of a strong
Russian state and a pillar of its defense
capabilities. The untimely Kursk disaster has
seriously tarnished that image. (SIGNED)
NEB/LMK/JWH/RAE
16-Aug-2000 10:23 AM EDT (16-Aug-2000 1423 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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