Spasibo, Brits

last updated 8 January 2015

Moscow

Seven Russian sailors trapped in a mini-submarine tangled in a cable on the ocean floor were saved this week, just as their oxygen was running out. A British underwater robot cut the cable, allowing the sub to resurface. “The successful, professional work of the British rescuers once again reminded the world that Britain, like us, is a great naval power,” said the Russian military paper, Krasnaya Zvezda. Several analysts noted that the appeal for international help was a departure from Russia’s last submarine accident, in 2000, when all 118 crewmen on the Kursk died after authorities refused to allow foreigners near the scene. Still, even this time the Defense Ministry did not admit that the mini-sub was in trouble until a reporter got an anonymous tip and began asking questions.