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Part 1 of 2 Parts   
          The Russian TASS news service reported that “On July 1, 14 submariners – sailors – died in Russian territorial waters as a result of inhaling combustion products aboard a research submersible vehicle designated for studying the seafloor and the bottom of the World Ocean in the interests of the Russian Navy after a fire broke out during bathymetric measurements.” The article went on to say that the fire was extinguished “thanks to the self-sacrificing actions of the team.” 
        Although the Ministry of Defense has not specified the location of the submersible that experienced the fire, it is believed that the incident occurred in the Barents Sea off Russia’s norther shore. The submersible was towed to the Russian North Fleet HQ in Severomork. An investigation of the incident is being carried out.
        The submersible was identified as Losharik (AS-12) by the Russian-language news service RBC. The Losharik is nuclear-powered. It is considered to be a major asset for the Russian Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research (GUGI). GUGI develops and operates a fleet of highly specialized submarines and submersibles. This fleet is used for deep sea research. It is also thought to be used for covert operations. GUGI does is not under the command of the Russian navy. It reports directly to Russian military intelligence known as the GRU. Little is known about the Losharik which is among the most mysterious of the GUCI fleet. The Losharik was deployed in the 1990s. It is thought to carry a crew of twenty-five. It can dive to depths of six-thousand feet. The weight of the Losharik is around two thousand pounds. It is thought to be about two hundred feet long.
      The Losharik can travel attached to the belly of a specially constructed Delta III nuclear ballistic missile submarine. Little is known about the purpose and capabilities of the Losharik. Reportedly, the Losharik was developed in order to cut undersea communications and other cables.
        Military analyst H.I. Sutton says that the Losharik is one of “range of special missions boats based at the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet’s Olenya Guba base. This base is one of several set up by the Soviets during the Cold War on the inhospitable but strategically important Kola Peninsula, far away from civilization.”
       The name of the Losharik is taken from a popular Russian cartoon horse that is made up of juggling balls. Western military analysts believe that the interior of the sub contains a series of seven spherical compartments. This is based on consideration of deep-sea missions intended for the Losharik. While the multiple spherical compartments in the submersible reduces living space and space for equipment and propulsion, it makes the submersible much stronger and allows it to dive to greater depths than the design of conventional subs.
       It is suspected that the Russian government will use the Losharik capabilities for deep dives to extend Russia’s territorial claims to the floor of the Arctic Sea. In 2012, the Losharik took samples on the ocean floor in order to prove that the Lomonsov and Mendeleyev Ridges are part of the Russian continental shelf. If this proves to be true, it can be used to establish Russian claims to large areas of the Arctic Sea. As global warming in the Arctic Sea is reducing the ice that covers the Arctic Sea for most of the year, nations that surround the Sea are working to secure rights to exploit the mineral wealth believed to be under the Arctic Sea.
Please read Part 2

(Image - By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61263153 film poster for the 1971 Soviet animated film Losharik)