Not to be cruel, but Russia doesn’t seem to have a very good track record when it comes to submarines. Remember the Kursk?
That’s what I was thinking. Instead of a sub capable of planting tiny Russian flags, why don’t they invent a sub that can scoop radioactive remains of existing Russian subs lying on sea bottoms around the world?
Most of their cold war subs are little more than scrap, now. Also, for years, the USSR would just dump nuclear cores in the Artic Ocean rather than dispose of them properly.
That's probably why they are shooting for the sea floor. They have lots of experience leaving things there...
In fact, I hear there are lots of Russian flags littering seabeds in most oceans...