As reported by the newspaper "Kommersant" in the material Nikolai Sergeyev "The deputy political officer was completely upset in isolation. What was the end of the fight against the spread of coronavirus on board a nuclear submarine", a scandalous incident occurred during the coronavirus pandemic on a nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine"Karelia". The deputy commander for military and political work of the cruiser received an incomplete official correspondence for drinking alcohol on board, while insulting a subordinate and his pregnant wife. In turn, zampolit, claiming that he was only fighting an infection, went to the military court of cassation, but lost his case.
Nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine of the Northern Fleet K-18 "Karelia" project 667BDRM (s) Lev Fedoseev / TASS
As follows from the court decisions published by the state automated system "Justice", the incident occurred on a submarine-v / h 20404-2. Under this number, in open sources, the strategic missile carrier "Karelia"is listed.
On July 14, 2020, there was a conflict between military personnel on board, the trial of which was conducted by the commander of the submarine, Captain 1st Rank Anton Maslennikov. From the explanations that the commander later gave to the court, it followed that he found one of the participants in the skirmish, deputy commander of the 2nd rank Konstantin Frolkin, in his cabin. The man was "distraught" and had obvious signs of alcohol intoxication: redness of the skin and eyes, as well as the smell of alcohol from the mouth. According to the commander, the deputy admitted to him that he drank alcohol, quarreled with the midshipman, and then continued to drink.
The conflict, during which the deputy political officer actively used obscene language, according to the commander, also occurred because of vodka. And it went not only to the midshipman, but also to his pregnant wife.
The latter, in the absence of her husband, who was quarantined with the crew on the submarine, could not issue an extension of the contract on social housing rental with the administration of the city of Alexandrovsk (Murmansk region). Upon learning of this, the midshipman decided to contact the deputy political officer, but found him barely able to stand on his feet in the medical forecastle. According to the victim, having actually sent him, the captain of the 2nd rank proceeded to the central post, from where, without hesitating in expressions both to the midshipman and his wife, repeated what was said earlier on the speakerphone. The meaning of the expressions, according to eyewitnesses, was that the subordinate should solve his own problems. After that, the midshipman went to the central post to talk to the commander, but he was stopped in time.
Nevertheless, the commander of the boat was informed about the incident, and according to the results of the analysis on his part, Deputy political Officer Frolkin was declared incomplete official compliance. With the penalty imposed on him, the latter categorically disagreed, turning to the Gadzhiyevsky garrison military court. The captain of the 2nd rank, despite the testimony of numerous witnesses, claimed that there was no conflict, and strong words, like drinks, he did not use. When eyewitnesses confirmed that he swore at almost the entire submarine, the deputy commander replied that " he used obscene language without intent to offend anyone."
According to the military, he used the alcohol from the bottles found in his cabin in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic to disinfect his hands, objects and the room itself.
Since the cabin was small, everything in it was saturated with the smell of vodka, the deputy political officer claimed. In addition, he noted, the commander of the submarine does not have any objective evidence of his drunkenness. The latter confirmed that he did not send the officer for a medical examination, as he did not have such an opportunity, since "the crew was in isolation" as part of an event caused by the spread of the coronavirus. In addition, it turned out that the protocol on the gross disciplinary offense of Captain 2nd rank Frolkin was also not issued. His commander explained this by saying that Deputy Commander Frolkin was brought to justice not for a specific incident, but for violating the general rules and duties of military personnel. The commander considered the severity of the punishment proportionate to the offense committed by the officer, who was called to be an example for his subordinates.
In the garrison court, Captain 2nd Rank Frolkin lost the case, but after that he appealed to the Northern Naval Military Court. Moreover, his demands were supported by the military prosecutor, who insisted on the cancellation of the order of the commander of the "Karelia".
However, the court ruled that the protest of the supervisory authority and other circumstances do not affect "the correctness of the decision taken in this case." A similar position was taken by the Military Court of Cassation.
The defender of the captain of the 2nd rank Frolkin refused to discuss the scandalous story on board the nuclear submarine with the correspondent of "Kommersant", referring to the interests of his client. Whether the deputy commander remained on the submarine after the incident or not, he did not specify.
The submarine "Karelia", armed with ballistic missiles "Sineva", joined the Navy in October 1989. Its crew in 1994 was the first to install the St. Andrew's and Russian flags at the North Pole. The cruiser is considered an exemplary model in the Northern Fleet. In November 1996, the then Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Viktor Chernomyrdin visited the Karelia. Two years later, the submarine received a delegation of US military personnel, and a year later-the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov. In April 2000, on board the Karelia, the then acting President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was initiated into submariners.
