Gennady Petrovich Lyachin (russian: Геннадий Петрович Лячин; 1 January 1955 – 12 August 2000) was a Russian navy officer. He was the commanding officer of the Russian submarine ''Kursk'' when the vessel suffered a series of explosions and sank on 12 August 2000. Lyachin was born in

Sarpinsky Sarpinsky District (russian: Сарпи́нский райо́н; xal-RU, Сарпан район, ''Sarpan rayon'') is an administrativeDecree #137 and municipalLaw #308-IV-Z district (raion), one of the thirteen in the Republic of Kalmykia, Ru ...

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, Volga region of Southern Russia. Its adminis ...

. He entered the Navy in 1972 and graduated from the Higher Naval School of Submarine Navigation named for Lenin Komsomol in 1977 and was commissioned as an officer. He served as a weapons officer aboard the diesel-electric ''Juliett'' class cruise missile submarine K-58. From 1984 to 1986, as Captain 3rd Rank, he served as the executive officer of the K-77, also a ''Juliett'' Class. In 1986 he attended Advanced Special Officers' Classes during which time he was promoted to Captain 2nd Rank. In October 1988, Lyachin received his first command, the K-304 also a ''Juliett'' class. He held this position until the K-304 was decommissioned after the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991. In April 1991, he was appointed executive officer of a nuclear submarine, the Project 949A ''Antey'' class (NATO reporting name ''Oscar-II'') K-119 ''Voronezh'' and served aboard through 1996. He and the newly formed crew spent the time between September 1991 and March 1993 undergoing training in

Obninsk Obninsk (russian: О́бнинск) is a city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Protva River southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Population: History The history of Obninsk began in 1945 when the First Research In ...

. Lyachin was promoted to the rank of Captain 1st Rank in 1996 and given command of the ''Voronezhs sister ship, the ill-fated K-141 ''Kursk'', the very last Project 949A submarine to be completed, which had been commissioned only two years earlier. When the ''Kursk'' sank on August 12, 2000, Lyachin perished along with the rest of the 117 crew members. President of the Russian Federation

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

awarded the title of

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...

to Lyachin

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

"For courage and heroism, during performance of sailor's duties".

External links

Biography from warheroes.ru

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyachin, Gennady 1955 births 2000 deaths People from Kalmykia Heroes of the Russian Federation Kursk submarine disaster Russian military personnel Soviet submarine commanders Burials at Serafimovskoe Cemetery People lost at sea