A longitudinal stabilizer is used to maintain the aircraft in longitudinal balance, or " trim " : it exerts a vertical force at a distance so that the summation of pitch a sudden move aft of the center of lift.
2.
On Saturday night, Motsak and Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov both said at a joint news conference that after the Kursk was first disabled by explosion or collision at periscope depth, it then lost " longitudinal balance " and fell into a steep dive.