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Vasily Arkhipov was a Soviet naval officer credited with preventing a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He is referred to as "the man who saved the world" for his role in this turning point in history.
Arkhipov graduated from the Pacific Higher Naval School in 1947. He was a submariner for the Soviet Black Sea, Northern, and Baltic fleets. He also saw action in the Soviet–Japanese War as a member of the crew on a minesweeper.
During the crisis, B-59 had been fenced in by U.S. Navy vessels enforcing a blockade off Cuba. With communications severed and under immense pressure, the captain and political officer were eager to fire a nuclear torpedo. Arkhipov's sanction was the ultimate necessity.
Arkhipov could veto the launch and did so. His refusal caused the submarine to retreat, averting what is commonly regarded as a nuclear holocaust.
Arkhipov passed away due to kidney cancer on August 19, 1998. Some reports attribute his cancer to radiation poisoning while serving on the Soviet submarine K-19 in a 1961 accident, although his death certificate indicates he died of kidney cancer.
Arkhipov appears in numerous documentaries and television series regarding his performance during the Cuban Missile Crisis, most prominently the 2012 PBS program "The Man Who Saved the World", which is a TV movie.
He is also referenced in Secrets of the Dead and America's Book of Secrets. Captain Mikhail Polenin of the 2002 film K-19: The Widowmaker was inspired by Arkhipov's service on the K-19 submarine.
He passed away on 19 August 1998 at the age of 72 in Zheleznodorozhny, Russia.
Arkhipov is credited with averting a nuclear war in the Cuban Missile Crisis. As part of the crew on board the nuclear submarine B-59, being attacked by U.S. naval vessels, he refused to sanction the captain's command to fire a nuclear torpedo. His single vote against the two other senior officers, who had convinced themselves they were under attack, caused the submarine to sail to the surface and avoided an impending, possibly disastrous nuclear confrontation.
Thomas S. Blanton, director of the U.S. National Security Archive, referred to Arkhipov as "the man who saved the world" in 2002, recognizing his pivotal role in avoiding nuclear war.
Arkhipov, the chief of staff of the brigade, had an epiphany. He noticed that there wasn't any war. The Americans would not put so much emphasis on a diesel submarine if an all-out war had erupted. Arkhipov, being the third officer, declined to give permission to fire. He knew that the American destroyers were probably calling the submarine in to emerge, and not attacking it. By soothing the captain and refusing to grant permission, he stopped the nuclear war from firing, and the Soviet nuclear retaliation and possibly saving the world.
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