His captain Valentin Savitsky was unaware that they were non-lethal . A midshipman stood there with my fathers uniform jacket a warm leather military jacket that was lined with fur. In July 1961, Arkhipov was appointed deputy commander and therefore executive officer of the new Hotel-class ballistic missile submarine K-19. Thomas Blanton, former director of the National Security Archive, said, 'This guy called Vasili Arkhipov saved the world.''. Nevertheless, my mother wondered why she had been brought his jacket. Arkhipovs story shows how close to nuclear catastrophe we have been in the past, she said. To those people who consider my father a coward I want to say: You havent experienced what he had to go through! Kirov Naval Academy (National Naval Academy, Baku) website, downloaded in 2014, National Security Archive After weeks of U.S. intelligence gathering that pointed toward a Soviet arms buildup in Cuba, the inciting incident came on Oct. 14 when an American spy plane flying over the island photographed missile sites under construction. For a brief, pivotal moment, Arkhipov's presence of mind was all that would stand between humanity's existence and its annihilation. Arkhipov gives his audience a hypothetical: the commander could have instinctively, without contemplation ordered an emergency dive; then after submerging, the question whether the plane was shooting at the submarine or around it would not have come up in anybodys head. So nothing further was said at home about his deployment. And the most dangerous day in human history may well have been one of our last. I am a frustrated cook who always got scolded by my wife for leaving the kitchen a mess. He said there were three scenarios: 'First, if you get a hole under the water. [23], The character of Captain Mikhail Polenin, portrayed by Liam Neeson, in the 2002 film K-19: The Widowmaker was closely based on Arkhipov's tenure on Soviet submarine K-19. I can therefore say, without doubt, that of course my father was aware of the consequences of his decision. Wikimedia CommonsOne of the American spy plane images photographs missile sites in Cuba that helped instigate the crisis. In the words of John F. Kennedy administration staffer Arthur Schlesinger, It was the most dangerous moment in human history.. The most remarkable episode that made him famous among submariners happened a year before the Cuban crisis. He is considered to be a world hero who is credited with casting the single vote that prevented a Soviet nuclear strike, which would have caused a major global thermonuclear response and most likely destroyed much of the world. American warships that had heard the subs desperate short-range distress calls came to the area and offered assistance. Elena Andriukova: Im actually very worried as are all peace-loving people. But the sub had a weapon at its disposal that US officers didnt know about: a 10-kiloton nuclear torpedo. But there was an important caveat: all three senior officers on board had to agree to deploy the weapon. My fathers decision is a sign of his strength, not his weakness! The torpedo was never fired. [24][25] Similarly, Denzel Washington's character in Crimson Tide (1995) is an officer who refused to affirm the launch orders of a submarine captain. That close call sobered both leaders, leading them to open back-channel negotiations that eventually led to a withdrawal of Soviet missiles in Cuba, a later pullback of US missiles in Turkey in response, and the end of the closest the world has yet come to total nuclear war. But unknown to Washington, the officers aboard B-59 were out of contact with their superiors and had every reason to believe that their American counterparts were trying to sink them. Something went wrong. By Oct. 28, the Americans had agreed to remove their missiles from Turkey and the Soviets had agreed to remove their missiles from Cuba. The three officers who were authorized to launch this torpedo, which included Arkhipov, the captain, and the vessels political officer, Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, quickly reviewed their options. They include difficulty of securing accurate intelligence, and the unpredictability of events. Now, 55 years after he averted nuclear war and 19 years after his death, Arkhipov is to be honoured, with his family the first recipients of a new award. Arkhipov continued his naval service, reaching the rank of vice admiral in 1981. Difficult. Fax: 202/994-7005Contact by email. Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov (Russian ) IPA vsilj lksandrvt arxipf (30 January 1926 19 August 1998) was a Soviet Navy officer credited with casting the single vote that prevented a Soviet nuclear strike (and, presumably, allout nuclear war) during . Although Arkhipov was only second-in-command of submarine B-59, he was actually Commander of the flotilla of submarines including B-4, B-36, and B-130, and of equal rank to Captain Savitsky. In 1962, during the Cold War, the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev did something very risky. The story of Vasili Arkhipov was shown on BBC's documentary "Vasili Arkhipov: the Man who Saved the World." . He was promoted to rear admiral in 1975, and became head of the Kirov Naval Academy. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. WHAT IS VASILI ARKHIPOV FAMOUS FOR? The subs captain, Valentin Savitsky, tried to contact Moscow, but there was no line open. She was his lifelong guardian angel! Such an attack likely would have caused a major global thermonuclear response. The Soviets and their fellow communist allies in Cuba had secretly reached a deal to place those missiles on the island in July. London, UK - On October 27, 1962, a soft-spoken naval officer named Vasili Arkhipov single-handedly prevented nuclear war during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Vasili Arkhipov was aboard the B-59 Soviet submarine when an American destroyer, the USS Beale began to drop depth charges. In accordance with our guiding principle Sign for Peace and Security! we want to take a stand on the issue of protecting and strengthening peace, security and stability. Reader support helps us keep our explainers free for all. Soviet naval officer Vasili Arkhipov (1926-1998) was second in command of the Soviet nuclear submarine B-59 during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. . Vasily Sergeyevich Arkhipov (Russian: ; 29 December [O.S. Such an attack likely would have caused a major global thermonuclear response. He settled in Kupavna (which was incorporated into Zheleznodorozhny, Moscow Oblast, in 2004), where he died on 19 August 1998. It was an era when the two greatest world powers, the US and Soviet Union, were at the brink of war over the presence of Soviet . That doesnt make it true. And the person who likely did more than anyone else to prevent that dangerous day from becoming an existential catastrophe was a quiet Soviet naval officer named Vasili Arkhipov. [11] According to author Edward Wilson, the reputation Arkhipov had gained from his courageous conduct in the previous year's K-19 incident played a large role in the debate to launch the torpedo. Wikimedia CommonsVasili Arkhipov in 1960. Vasili Arkhipov. They thought they were witnessing the beginning of a third world war. During Oct. 22-28 1962, Washington and Moscow sparred on the edge of thermonuclear war. My father was the conscience of our homeland! The operation was top secret and took around two months. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? Kaarst - Germany The three men were captain Savitsky, political officer Ivan Semyonovich Maslennikov, and executive officer Arkhipov. We will die, but we will sink them all we will not become the shame of the fleet.. Arkhipov was married to Olga Arkhipova until his death in 1998. The captain and the political officer were in favor of firing. "A guy called Vasili Arkhipov saved the world." - Thomas Blanton in 2002 (then director of the National Security Archive) Last month, October 27, 1962 marked the 50th anniversary of an event too important in world history for it to get lost amid the Halloween and other "trivial" holiday-related notifications. Had it been launched, the Guardian wrote, the fate of the world would have been very different: the attack would probably have started a nuclear war which would have caused global devastation, with unimaginable numbers of civilian deaths.. All members of the engineer crew and their divisional officer died within a month due to the high levels of radiation they were exposed to. Think of the radiation accident aboard the K-19 submarine, for instance. Telefon: +49 (0) 2131-5978299 This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. He transferred to the Caspian Higher Naval School and graduated in 1947. The Americans had no idea that B-59 was armed with nuclear weapons, and started to drop depth charges in order to force the submarine to the surface. They had a daughter named Yelena. One reason why Savitsky listened to Arhipov was the authority that he had through years of service. Yes, the second-in-command on the B-59 had been given . For his courage, Arkhipov was the first person to be given the Future of Life award by the Cambridge-based existential risk nonprofit the Future of Life Institute (FLI), in 2017. President Kennedy decided against a direct attack on Cuba, opting instead for a blockade around the island to prevent Soviet ships from accessing it, which he announced on Oct. 22. Vasili Arkhipov, who prevented escalation of the cold war by refusing to launch a nuclear torpedo against US forces, is to be awarded new Future of Life prize. His persuasion effectively averted a nuclear war which would have likely ensued if the nuclear weapon had been fired. In his lecture my father spoke about the submarine escort deployments in connection with operation Kama. As for Arkhipov, after those two dangerous episodes in the early 1960s, he continued to serve in the Soviet Navy, eventually being promoted to rear admiral and becoming head of the Kirov Naval Academy. He had previously experienced very hard times. But Vasili Arkhipov said no. B-59 surfaced, demanding the American ships to stop their provocations. No one knew that he had been commissioned, not even my mother. This required the men to work in high radiation levels for extended periods. [7][8] The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigoryevich Savitsky, decided that a war might already have started and wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo. The officers had to decide whether to fight back or not. The Man Who Saved the World--Vasili Arkhipov "Vasili Arkhipov is arguably the most important person in modern history, thanks to whom October 27, 2017 isn't the 55th anniversary of WWIII." . a report from the US National Security Archive, Nobel peace prize-winning organisation, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, all states must urgently join the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. In 1961, he became deputy commander of the new Hotel-class missile submarine K-19. As the U.S. Navy pursued Soviet submarines armed with nuclear torpedoes off the coast of Cuba, only the composure of Captain Vasily Arkhipov saved the world. It was the most dangerous moment in human history."[21]. We will die, but we will sink them all we will not become the shame of the fleet.. As one man on board, Anatoly Andreev, wrote in his journal: For the last four days, they didnt even let us come up to the periscope depth My head is bursting from the stuffy air. words of John F. Kennedy administration staffer Arthur Schlesinger, Stanislav Petrov, another Cold War hero who saved the world from nuclear annihilation. [12] The B-59's batteries ran very low and its air conditioning failed, which caused extreme heat and generated high levels of carbon dioxide inside the submarine. Why was Nazi Field Marshal Paulus on the Soviet payroll, Tough love: How street children were treated in the Soviet Union, The reluctant hero: How a Soviet officer single-handedly prevented WWIII, 'He was a bad shooter': Lee Harvey Oswalds life in the USSR. [9] Arkhipov eventually persuaded Savitsky to surface and await orders from Moscow. But Commander Zateyev refused help, fearing Soviet military secrets would be compromised. Kennedy responded by imposing a quarantine zone, and a terrified world waited to see if the Soviet freighters carrying new missiles would turn back. V asili Arkhipov was one of three commanders of a B-59 Soviet . The next day October 28, 1962 Khrushchev and Kennedy reached an agreement. Arkhipov, with the power of veto . You must understand that everything was top secret. The U.S. demanded the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba, while Moscow insisted that Washington should first remove its missiles from Turkey. That is war. And in war, the commander certainly was authorized to use his weapons. a report from the US National Security Archive. But Arkhipovs actions still deserve special praise. It was anyway forbidden to talk about this subject. In the Seven questions to category we furthermore put seven questions on the issues of peace-building and peace-keeping, security policy and conflict prevention to interesting personalities. Vasili Arkhipov lahir pada tanggal 30 Januari 1926 dalam keluarga petani sederhana di kota Staraya Kupavna, dekat Moskow. He was invited to speak at the scientific-practical conference 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: The Strategic Military Operation Anadyr. "[18], In 2002, retired commander Vadim Pavlovich Orlov, a participant in the events, held a press conference revealing the submarines were armed with nuclear torpedoes and that Arkhipov was the reason those weapons had not been fired. She was his lifelong guardian angel! The intention wasnt to destroy it but to force it to surface, as US officials had already informed Moscow. On 27 October 1962, Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov was on board the Soviet submarine B-59 near Cuba when the US forces began dropping non-lethal depth charges. Arkhipov sangat aktif dalam bidang kemiliteran Uni Soviet saat remaja. Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov (30 January 1926 - 19 August 1998) was a Soviet military officer. Cut off from outside contact, buffeted by depth charges, its air conditioning broken, and temperatures and carbon dioxide levels rising in the sub, the most obvious conclusion for the officers of B-59 was that global war had already begun. Soviet Naval officer Vasili Arkhipov, 34, was one of the three commanders aboard the B-59 submarine near Cuba on Oct. 27. Should you. [3], On 27 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of 11 United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USSRandolph located the diesel-powered, nuclear-armed Foxtrot-class submarine B-59 near Cuba. And the subsequent similar actions (there were 12 overflights altogether) were not as worrisome any longer. Elena Andriukova: Thats right, my father spoke in public about the events aboard the B-59 for the first time on October 14, 1997, at the Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. He was heading to Cuba onboard the submarine B-59, leading the flotilla of four USSR submarines, when US destroyers started dropping depth charge to force it . sovyetler birlii ile amerika arasnda 1962 ylnda yaanan fze krizinde, dnyann muhtemel nkleer savaa girme ihtimalini bir rus deniz subaynn engelledii ortaya kt. Savitsky had his men ready the onboard missile, as strong as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, planning to aim it at one of the 11 U.S. ships in the blockade. In recognition of his actions onboard B-59, Arkhipov received the first "Future of Life Award," which was presented posthumously to his family in 2017. Historians posted . On 27 October 1962, Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov was on board the Soviet submarine B-59 near Cuba when the US forces began dropping non-lethal depth charges. Chapter Five Vasili Arkhipov: The Man Who Prevented World War Three By Ron Ridenour . What nobody knew was that 700 feet underwater, four Soviet submarines were lurking nearby. Vasili Arkhipov. The detonation of this weapon formed a huge plume of radioactive water from its detonation force of some 4.8 kilotonnes. Google Pay. Two of the vessels senior officers including the captain, Valentin Savitsky wanted to launch the missile. This presentation is the only known public statement by Vasily Arkhipov about the events on submarine B-59 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thinking that President John F. Kennedy was a weak man, he smuggled nuclear missiles into his ally Castros Cuba. It was the height of the Cuban missile crisis, which began earlier that month when a US U-2 spy plane spotted evidence of newly built installations on Cuba, where it turned out that Soviet military advisers were helping to build sites capable of launching nuclear missiles at the US, less than 100 miles away. Had he assented to the decision to fire a nuclear torpedo, likely vaporizing a US aircraft carrier and killing thousands of sailors, it would have been far more difficult for Kennedy and Khrushchev to step back from the brink. Circa Oct. 28-29, 1962. So much money has already been spent on armaments. Broicherdorfstrae 53 Now its all about Trump. 3 /5. Wikimedia CommonsThe Soviet B-59 submarine in the Caribbean near Cuba. Elena Andriukova: When my father was commissioned in 1962 he was a person of strong character. While politici. And we should celebrate those, like Vasili Arkhipov, who in moments of existential decision, choose life rather than extinction. In 1947, he graduated from the Caspian . This presentation is the only known public statement by Vasily Arkhipov about the events on submarine B-59 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. To the most powerful leaders in the world I want to say: Stop the nuclear arms race! However, Savitsky needed the approval of both of the subs other two captains before launching the weapon. Vasili Arkhipov, who died in 1998. Ultimately, it was luck as much as management that ensured that the missile crisis ended without the most dreadful consequences., Thank you Vasili Arkhipov, the man who stopped nuclear war | Edward Wilson, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Arkhipov, K-19s deputy captain was among the few who remained calm, maintained order and helped to organize a proper evacuation. Mobil: +49 (0) 177-3132744. My father, Vasili Arkhipov, was Chief of Staff of the 69th Submarine Brigade of the Northern Fleet when, in October 1962, he was commissioned by the Navy High Command to undertake a top secret mission. During the Cuban Missile Crisis a false alarm of nuclear war almost made a Soviet nuclear submarine near the U.S launch it's nukes. They had received an order from Soviet leadership to stop in the Caribbean short of the American blockade around Cuba. But at the peak of the crisis, one Soviet naval officer managed to keep a cool head and avert nuclear devastation. Arkhipov backed Captain Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev, who feared that the crew would mutiny out of sheer desperation, by helping him dump most of the ships small arms arsenal overboard in order to avert the possibility that this potential mutiny would be an armed one. Thankfully, the captain didnt have sole discretion over the launch. 2023 Initiative Gesichter des Friedens | Faces of Peace, Vasili Arkhipov (72), Chief of Staff of the 69th Submarine Brigade of the Northern Fleet, https://www.faces-of-peace.org/wp-content/themes/blade/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg, https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/89f8bcb53e45adc60699ad1be4fef89d?s=96&d=mm&r=g, Ich bin ausdrcklich damit einverstanden Pressemitteilungen zu erhalten und wei, dass ich mich jederzeit wieder, Steve Killelea, Creator of the Global Peace Index (GPI), Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Chair of Chatham House Council, Farzana Kochai, Mitglied des afghanischen Parlaments, Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Die missbrauchten Frauen des Krieges (Teil 2) Interview mit Prof. Dr. Stefanie Bock, The Abused Women of War (Part 1) Interview with Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman, Die missbrauchten Frauen des Krieges (Teil 1) Interview mit Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman, Detlef Dzembritzki, Bundesvorsitzender DGVN, Im Visier Die Bedrohung aus dem Cyberraum, Chief of Staff of the 69th Submarine Brigade, Man kann uns nicht mehr ignorieren, deswegen werden wir bekmpft!, Diplomacy in the modern age can never afford to stand still!, Die Welt ist verantwortlich dafr, was in Afghanistan passiert!, We need to focus on human security for sustainable peace!, Die Prozesse sind komplex und zeitaufwendig!, For me that was my day of apocalypse the day that felt like the last of my life!, Fr mich war es der Tag der Apokalypse der Tag, der sich wie der letzte meines Lebens anfhlte!, Knnen nur hoffen, dass Donald Trump nicht erneut zum US-Prsidenten gewhlt wird!, Jeder kann einen Cyber-Angriff fr weniger als 18 Euro beauftragen!. Difficult. He acted like a man who knew what kind of disasters can come from radiation, she said. As Thomas Blanton, Director of George Washington Universitys National Security Archive, said in 2002, A guy called Vasili Arkhipov saved the world.. Elon Musk thinks were close to solving AI. Through a series of tense negotiations over the coming days, the Americans and the Soviets worked out a deal to end the conflict. That led to the Cold Wars most volatile confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union 13 days of high-stakes brinkmanship between two nuclear powers that seemed one misstep away from total war. The timing of the award, Fihn added, is apt. At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis on 27 October 1962, the US Navy detected a Soviet submarine near the blockaded island of Cuba. His heroic moment during the Cuban Missile Crisis didnt become public knowledge until 2002. Knowledge is power or so they say. For world peace! They eventually came up with a secondary coolant system and were able to prevent a reactor meltdown. It seemed like youre sitting in an iron barrel and someone is hitting it with a sledgehammer Vadim Orlov, who was on B-59 as an intelligence officer, recalled later. A special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands, as well as invites to exclusive events and the Bookazine delivered directly to their door. This period made a strong impression on him and it made a significant contribution to the development of his personality, the formation of his character and his feeling of responsibility towards the lives of other people. Soviet submarine B-59, in the Caribbean near Cuba. But after learning his story, youd be hard-pressed to say he didnt in fact save the world. The reactor's coolant system failed, and a . As a result, the situation in the control room played out very differently. As the crisis escalated, U.S. naval vessels, clearly unaware of the fact that Soviet submarines operating in the area were carrying nuclear torpedoes, dropped depth charges on those vessels in a bid to get them to surface so that they would not break the United States naval blockade on Cuba. The musical group Converge dedicated a composition called "Arkhipov Calm" to Arkhipov in 2017. Arkhipov was a Soviet hero, and an unsung hero to other nations as well. You can spend some hours googling them, and get all the details of their stories which I shall narrate in short. Vasili Aleksandrovich Arkhipov ( ting Nga: ; sinh ngy 30 thng 1 nm 1926 - mt ngy 19 thng 8 nm 1998) l mt s quan hi qun Lin X. THE STORY OF AN IMPORTANT INCIDENT IN HUMAN HISTORY. Ba nm k t sau khi Vasili Arkhipov mt . He showed the same level of composure off the coast of Cuba a . In 1961, he was serving as executive officer (Riker, Pippen) aboard a nuclear submarine near Greenland. The nuclear torpedo armed submarine he was a crew member of came under depth charge attack from the U.S. Navy. Indeed it was retrospectively appreciated just how close nuclear war really was during that time. Arkhipov does not mention his own role in the critical situation, saying only that in a couple of minutes it became clear that the plane fired past and alongside the boat and was therefore not under attack. As I already mentioned at the beginning, my father was also able to demonstrate precisely these character traits during the accident aboard the K-19 submarine during the Polar Circle exercise. The long-range radio had also been disabled during another incident, rendering the sub unable to contact its HQ in Moscow. He could have died there. Vasili Arkhipov was born on January 30, 1926, to a peasant family in Staraya Kupavna - a small town on the outskirts of Moscow. The lessons remain of fundamental importance. It is fitting to begin three years after Mr. Arkhipovs death. During exercises in the North Atlantic, the K-19 suffered a major leak in its reactor coolant system. "[14][15], Immediately upon return to Russia, many crew members were faced with disgrace from their superiors. Soviet Navy officer Vasili Arkhipov, 1955. On Oct. 27, 1962, the world was close to a full-scale confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers. I still have the invitation today. But the third officer, captain Vasily Arkhipov, who was in charge of the whole flotilla, convinced his colleagues that launching a nuclear torpedo was too dangerous a decision to make. Washington, D.C., 20037, Phone: 202/994-7000 VASILI ARKHIPOV: THE GUY WHO SAVED THE WORLD. When he was home he would return very late, and then hed leave the house very early again the next morning in his military capacity. Vasili Arkhipov (1960's). But as tensions between the US and Russia only grow over the war in Ukraine, and as Russian President Vladimir Putin makes veiled threats about wielding his countrys nuclear arsenal, we should remember the awful power of these world-ending weapons. Whether my life has changed since then? In 1961, Arkhipov served on K-19, a nuclear submarine infamous among Soviet officers for its breakdowns and accidents it even had the nickname, Hiroshima. In July 1961, K-19 was conducting exercises in the North Atlantic when its reactor broke down, losing coolant. Vasili Aleksandrovit Arhipov (ven. ) (30. tammikuuta 1926 Moskovan alue - 19. elokuuta 1998 Moskovan alue) oli venlinen Neuvostoliiton laivaston sukellusveneupseeri, arvoltaan vara-amiraali.Arhipov osallistui nuoresta istn huolimatta toiseen maailmansotaan ja palveli muun muassa K-19-sukellusveneell. Savitsky was one of the Soviet commanders above Vasili in the Soviet Navy,and who ordered the launch of the missile to the Americas during the Cuban Missile Crisis. B-4 Captain Ryurik Ketov's recollection during a 2001 Russian television interview was: "The only person who talked to us about those weapons was Vice-Admiral Rassokha. The photograph above shows Vasili Arkhipov in 1953 when he was officer aboard the M . PCSO LOTTO RESULTS. Only Vasili Arkhipov, Chief of Staff of the 69th Submarine Brigade of the Northern Fleet, hesitated, before taking probably the most difficult and momentous decision of his life: On October 27, 1962, he refused to press the red button, thereby preventing a nuclear chain reaction leading to all-out nuclear war. My father was deputy commander under the command of Nikolai Zateyev. Two of the subs senior officers wanted to launch the nuclear torpedo. As flotilla commander and second-in-command of the diesel powered submarine B-59, Arkhipov refused to . And its officers had permission from their superiors to launch it without confirmation from Moscow.

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