542 
equipped with manipulators or special tools. Some disadvantages of 
such an approach include risks associated with the danger of rapid 
decompression from great depths where gases become highly-saturated 
in the blood; the length of time required to compress and decompress 
divers prior to and after a deep dive; and the associated expense 
and requirement for professional and equipment logistics. 
While the United States has a relatively good supply of medically 
suitable helium available for deep saturation diving operations, diving- 
grade helium in the Soviet Union is believed to be in relatively short 
supply. This factor and the relatively shallow depth of Soviet continen- 
tal shelf areas might explain why the Soviet Union has not been 
competitive with Western deep diving research and development until 
very recently. At present, only Soviet naval divers are believed capable 
of conducting deep saturation diving operations in excess of 200 me- 
ters. At the same time, Soviet nonmilitary diving operations, such 
as those associated with the previously discussed Soviet habitat pro- 
gram, have generally been confined to depths of less than 100 
metersm 74 
As discussed earlier, at least one underwater habitat is being 
developed by the Institute of Oceanology which will be able to sub- 
merge to depths of 100 meters or more (Chernomor-100). Associated 
with this development is the imperative to develop a deeper diving 
capability. To this end, a new diving simulation facility, known as 
‘““Krolik” has been completed by the southern branch of the Insitute 
of Oceanology near the town of Gelendzhik on the Black Sea. This 
hyperbaric facility is described in the Soviet press as being one of 
the largest in Europe and permits the simulation of mixed-gas (helium- 
oxygen) diving operations down to the 300-350 meter level. This 
is the first such facility constructed in the Soviet Union. Its develop- 
ment provides further evidence that there is renewed emphasis on 
manned undersea programs in the Soviet Union.™ 
While there would now appear to be a renewed effort to develop 
a deeper diving capability in the Soviet Union, research continues 
on the refinement of shallow diving technology (depths of 100 meters 
or less) using gas mixtures containing nitrogen, oxygen, and small 
amounts of helium. This relatively economical concept of shallow 
diving is also receiving renewed attention in the United States, 
Sweden, and Japan. In the context of shallow diving, the Soviet Union 
is also developing specialized diving suits and associated life support 
equipment which will support prolonged (one day or longer) un- 
derwater stays by divers at depths of 100 meters or less. ® The exact 
purpose of this rather curious approach to diving operations is not 
known. 
61 Shikanov, Ye. P. Handbook for Divers. Moscow, ““Voyenizdat,”’ 1973, 318 p. (JPRS 60691). 
®?Gulyar, S. A. et al. Basic principles of human adaption to the conditions of shallow-depth un- 
derwater laboratories. Uspekhi Fiziologicheskikh Nauk (U.S.S.R.), No. 3, 1974, 92-101 (FRD Ab- 
stract No. 1971). 
®3Kolchinskaya, A.Z. et al. (EDs.) Undersea Medical and Physilogical Investigations. Kiev, 
“Naukova Dumka,” 1975, 164 p. (FRD Abstract No. 2782). 
64 Unsigned. The depths are conquered on shore. Sovetskaya Latviya (U.S.S.R.), Sept. 12, 1975, p. 
2 
“65 Barats, Yu. M. et al. Diving suit for man’s prolonged stay underwater. Sudostroyeniya (USSR), 
No. 9, 1971, p. 26. 
