It kinda reminds me of the space race, the two nations rushing so desperately to out-do each other, and in such rushes mistakes are made by both sides. The problem with the Soviets, that I've found through reading about various Soviet sub accidents is that the level of incompetence in the higher echolons of command was pretty high. Take for example, K-219...Britanov was ordered to put a makeshift crew back onto the sub, even though she was doomed, and try to put her back to port. It would seem in some cases that the machine was worth more than the men...which is a real ass about face way of doing things but it did seem to be Soviet doctrine, at least at higher levels of command...but thankfully, at lower levels common sense prevailed.
