But the Russian Navy’s habit of pinning blame on low- and mid-ranking officials, while upper brass dodges responsibility, seems to be the motivating factor behind this latest set of charges from the military, experts say.

The captain of the rescue vessel, Viktor Novikov, was charged with negligence for allegedly damaging a robotic underwater device in the course of the rescue operation, an official with the office of the Naval Prosecutor of Russia's Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok told RIA Novosti.

The expensive device was damaged through the captain's lack of professionalism, the official alleged.

Prosecutors last week had already opened a criminal enquiry over the submarine incident, after the investigation into the three-day drama to save the sunken AS-28 mini rescue sub "revealed that a series of people involved allowed negligence in the organisation of the submarine's work," the Deputy Naval Prosecutor of Russia's Pacific Fleet, Roman Kolbanov said, according to Agencie France Press.

Prosecutors last week alleged that those under investigation broke fleet rules by sending out one mini-submarine by itself, instead of two. Participants in the rescue operation were also questioned.

A rescue submarine of the AS-28 design photographed at an undisclosed location.

AP

International help was summoned to the Bering Sea from the United States and Great Britain, and the British team finally cut the sub loose on August 7th with sophisticated Scorpio robotic technology, with only hours of oxygen to spare. The seven-man crew of the Priz was treated to a hero’s welcome across Russia as they emerged from the depths.

But almost as soon as the crew saw daylight, the Russian Navy—which has suffered a number of embarrassing accidents in recent years requiring foreign intervention, including the sinking of the Kursk in 2000 which killed all 118 sailors on board—began the search for a scapegoat.

They have apparently found one in Novikov, the captain of the Russian rescue vessel Georgy Kozmin dispatched to the scene, and have accused him of damaging a different Scorpio robot called the Venom. At the time of the rescue operation, the Venom’s regular operating crew was on vacation. According to acting Russian naval commander, Admiral Vladimir Masorin, the substitute crew headed up by Novikov “didn’t even know what buttons to push,” Russian news agencies reported.

Preliminary estimates put the damage to the underwater rescue robot at $10m.

One member of the Venom operation crew, who asked to remain anonymous, responded acrimoniously to the accusations levied against Novikov.

“For me the accusations were no surprise. There should be a scapegoat found and, of course, he cannot be from headquarters. The guys from the AC-28 are beyond blame, like official heroes, but they have to punish someone,” said the crew member in interviews with the Russian media.

The crew member said it would be better to ferret out who in the naval headquarters was responsible for sending out the Priz with “practically no safety net.” He asserted that Novikov was not guilty of anything as “he is just as forced as the rest of us.

The location of the rescue operation.

“Despite Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov’s request not to touch the guys for a period of time, the interrogations began the next day after the rescue,” she told Kommersant Russian daily newspaper.

More accusations to come?
Many anticipate that Priz captain Miloshevky will also fall under the prosecutor's gun.

“They will now make another scapegoat out of Milashevsky, the commander of the AC-28,” said Alexander Pokrovsky, a veteran of the Russian Navy and author of books and articles about submariners. “This is because the principle of fleet commanders remains as it always has—make a fall guy out of the one who has the lowest rank,” he told Russian news agencies.

Milashevksy, despite his young age, however, has a distinguished record. He commanded seven dives on bathyscaphe vessels prior to the early August incident.