Mikhail Motsak

Mikhail Vasilyevich Motsak
Born	(1949-11-22)22 November 1949 Moscow, Russia SFSR, USSR
Died	19 October 2019(2019-10-19) (aged 69) Saint Petersburg, Russia
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Russia
Service/branch	Soviet Navy  Russian Navy
Years of service	1967–2001
Rank	Vice-Admiral
Awards	Hero of the Russian Federation Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" Fourth Class Order of Honour Order "For Personal Courage" Order of the Red Star Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" Third Class

Mikhail Vasilyevich Motsak (Russian: Михаил Васильевич Моцак; 22 November 1949 – 19 October 2019) was a high-ranking career officer of the Soviet and Russian Navies.

Born in Moscow, Motsak grew up in Sevastopol, attending the P. S. Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School [ru] and starting his naval career as an engineer in the Pacific Fleet. Rising through the ranks to more senior positions, he served on submarines in various roles, transferring to the Northern Fleet and his own submarine commands in 1982. Commended for his performance, Motsak graduated to various staff positions in the fleet, was promoted to rear-admiral in 1993 and became commander 1st Submarine Flotilla [ru] in 1993. In 1994 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. In May 1999 Motsak was appointed Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the Northern Fleet.

Part of his duties included organising the fleet's exercises for summer 2000,the first in a decade. During the exercises the submarine Kursk suffered a series of catastrophic explosions and sank. Motsak was deeply involved in rescue attempts to reach the stricken submarine before officials learned that the entire crew of 118 had died. He commanded the salvage operation the following year. Motsak was among the fleet's officers to be criticised in the subsequent investigation into the disaster.

He was demoted and forced to resign. He became deputy to the Presidential Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District for a time. Later he worked in the private sector with marine engineering companies. Over his career he had received several awards in addition to the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, including the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" Fourth Class, the Order of Honour and the Order "For Personal Courage". He died in 2019 and was buried in the Serafimovskoe Cemetery in his home city of Saint Petersburg.