Lyachin was promoted to the rank of Captain 1st Rank in 1996 and given command of the "Voronezh"'s sister ship, the ill-fated K-141 "Kursk", the very last Project 949A submarine to be completed, which had been commissioned only two years earlier. When the "Kursk" sank on August 12, 2000, Lyachin perished along with the rest of the 117 crew members.