Spassky was also awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation ( 2006 ) Spassky was the creator of the K-141 Kursk project , the last of the Oscar II class submarines built for the Russian navy . On August 12 , 2000 , a dummy torpedo aboard the submarine accidentally exploded and the submarine sank . Most of the crew died during the explosion , but 28 crew men remained alive for at least six hours afterward . Unfortunately , the rescuers were hampered by the slow and secretive military and government response . It was a week before they could get to the submarine site and then bad weather further slowed the recovery . By that time , the surviving crew had perished
accidentally exploded
Kursk submarine disaster
Igor Spassky