The Black Sea Fleet's Kilo-class submarines appear to have received less maintenance than boats in the Northern and Pacific Fleets. Clarke qualifies that comparison and offers a possible institutional explanation. He characterizes the Black Sea Fleet as a posting for officers being prepared for political positions, suggesting that its command appointments have affected maintenance. In this interpretation, personnel policy helps explain the gap between possessing a submarine and maintaining its operational usefulness.
Notable Point · 10:32-11:18
Black Sea Fleet maintenance and political command appointments
A proposed explanation links apparent maintenance differences among Russia's Kilo-class submarines to political command appointments.