October 27th, 1962, was one of those days that could shape the World in a very different direction if it was by a different decision by just a small group of people. It was at the height of the Cuban missile crisis during the Cold War, and Vasily Arkhipov, a Soviet naval officer in a Soviet nuclear submarine, played a critical role in averting a nuclear disaster.
On that day, Vasily Arkhipov was in the Soviet submarine B-59, which was under pressure by American naval forces. The U.S. Navy, unaware that the submarine was armed with nuclear torpedoes, dropped practice depth charges, which the Soviet crew misinterpreted as a sign of war. To make things worse, the submarine crew was cut off from the outside world and believed that a full-blown war had broken out.
The captain and political officer decided to launch a nuclear torpedo at the U.S. fleet. The decision to launch the atomic weapons required the approval of the three senior submarine officers. Vasily Arkhipov, who was second-in-command of the fleet, strongly opposed it. He convinced his colleagues to surface and wait for further orders from Moscow. Thanks to his efforts, the world was saved from a potential nuclear war that could have been catastrophic.
Arkhipov's remarkable stand demonstrated immense courage and clarity under intense pressure. His decision was made in a diesel-electric submarine's confined and overheated conditions, wholly cut off from communication with the outside world. The level-headedness and bravery displayed by people like Arkhipov demonstrate the human ability to avoid catastrophe even in the most stressful circumstances.
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