Gennady Petrovich Lyachin, who grew up in the Volgograd steppes, connected his life with the sea. The commander of a super-modern submarine owes his life's work to the father of the future wife, a hereditary sailor who instilled a love for the navy. He will pass it on to his son, forever remaining in the memory of his contemporaries the captain of the Kursk APRK, who died tragically in the waters of the Barents Sea on 12.08.2000.
Biography Pages
Parents of Gennady Lyachin are ordinary workers who lived at the Sarpinsky state farm (now the territory of Kalmykia). The boy went to school already in Volgograd (school number 85), finding himself at the same desk with Irina Glebova, whose love will carry through her whole life. Being the highest in the class, he enjoyed the attention of classmates, but from the very beginning he was distinguished by the seriousness and understanding of what he wants from life. He was fond of football, but studied for fours and fives, choosing a profession in which he could truly prove himself.
Fascinated by the stories of the future father-in-law about romance and traditions of maritime service, he went to the Navy to choose the profession of a submariner. To this end, he entered the naval school, the famous Lenkom, received in 1977 lieutenant epaulettes. Gennady Petrovich Lyachin devoted his whole life to the Northern Fleet, having lived 23 years in the village of ZATO Vidyaevo (Murmansk region).
Submarine Commander: Military Career Phase
The officer’s service began on diesel submarines, where in the 80s he would be promoted to senior assistant commander after graduating from the Higher Officer Classes. In 1988, he was even appointed commander of the B-478, but after the decommissioning of the ship, they would be transferred again as senior assistant, but to the K-119 Voronezh nuclear-powered ship. This is practically the twin of the future Kursk, requiring additional knowledge and skills. For a year and a half, the entire crew will sit at their desks, receiving special training in the capital of nuclear scientists - Obninsk.
Studying will not be in vain, for the next three years Voronezh will be the best in the division, and after leaving the submarine battleship Kursk from Severodvinsk in 1996, Gennady Petrovich Lyachin will receive the rank of captain of the 1st rank and the appointment of a new ship commander. He was a handsome man with a displacement of 25 thousand tons the size of a 9-door, 8-storey building. Nuclear submarines were named after hero cities, which in the difficult 90s were given under patronage.
Title of Hero of Russia
Having become the commander of the K-141 Kursk APRK, very soon Lyachin led the crew to the front lines, where real sailors and officers sought to get. He was good-naturedly called “One Hundred and Fifth” for his great weight, but this was an admission that he became a real “Batya” for professionals and conscript sailors. One of the best crew in the division consisted of only specialists of the 1st and 2nd classes and masters and performed tasks of any complexity, whether it be shooting or an autonomous expedition to the Atlantic Ocean in August-October 1999.
1999 is a stellar year for a ship that completed a top-secret mission by observing NATO exercises in the Mediterranean. In the conditions of the civil war in Yugoslavia, the Russian navy proved its ability to become a reliable shield for its country - maritime power No. 1. For in the arsenal of NATO countries there were no nuclear submarines capable of delivering not only a nuclear, but also a torpedo strike. The Russian ship disappeared from the training site through Gibraltar as unnoticed as it appeared, which made Captain Lyachin a personal enemy of the Americans. Many NATO officers paid for their posts. And Gennady Petrovich was personally received by V.V. Putin. He was introduced to the title of Hero of Russia, and 72 crew members - to the Order for Courage. But no one was destined to receive the reward in life.
The submarine Kursk: the history of the tragedy
In July 2000, on its professional holiday, APRK proudly took part in the Northern Fleet parade in Severodvinsk. In August, they were waiting for the planned three-day exercises with firing torpedoes. Nothing foreshadowed the disaster when on Saturday morning, August 12, the commander reported on a conditional strike to the enemy. On board was the chief of staff of the division Vladimir Bagryantsev, an experienced sailor who led the campaign. A torpedo attack was scheduled for 11-30, but the Kursk was silent and no longer contacted.
After the flight of the helicopters and the lack of the ascent of the ship, measures began to search and rescue the submarine. In 4-36 from the cruiser "Peter the Great" a report came that the APRK was found lying on the bottom of the sea at a depth of 108 meters. For a week the weather conditions did not allow to go down and get inside, and when the Norwegian divers managed to do this, not a single person was alive on board. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the success of an unprecedented operation to raise a sunken ship from the depths of the sea and sound the official version of the tragedy that happened.
A hydrogen torpedo detonated due to a hydrogen leak, causing another five torpedoes to explode again. Fortunately, the nuclear reactor, about which the crew first thought, was not damaged, otherwise the scale of the tragedy could be much more serious. Homeland lost 118 real men, the pride of the Navy - the ship’s personnel, led by the commander. In the 9th compartment, the last 23 people survived for some time, who did not have time to rise to the surface through the emergency hatch due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Afterword
The submarine Kursk has become a symbol of courage and fortitude. The whole country sobbed over the farewell lines left by individual sailors to command and relatives. There is no fear and resentment in fate. The crew simply did their duty. These letters are destroyed, and all records are classified for 50 years, which does not allow to fully believe in the official version of the tragedy in the Barents Sea. When the Prosecutor General Ustinov was the first to land on a ship raised from the bottom of the sea, his motor boat was driven by Lieutenant Gleb Lyachin, the only son of the deceased hero. Today, he is still continuing his father’s work.
And Gennady also had a daughter, Daria and wife Irina, who devoted her time to politics. She ran for the State Duma candidate, and then became an assistant to the chairman of the Federation Council. In the team of Sergey Mironov, she dealt with issues of social protection of military personnel. Relatives meet together on the anniversary of the death of the crew, supporting each other and giving a debt of memory to the sailors. Gennady Petrovich Lyachin did not live to see his 47th birthday, posthumously receiving the title of Hero of Russia.