The Fascinating Story of a Russian Soldier Who Prevented a Nuclear War
The Soviet navy officer who saved the world.
The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear destruction. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were prepared to use nuclear force against each other to protect their national interests. In October of the same year, tensions reached their ultimate peak as a Soviet submarine in the Caribbean was spotted and then attacked by the American Navy.
The situation was unimaginably intense as the Americans began unloading depth charges onto the Soviet submarine, utterly oblivious that the Soviet submarine was equipped with a tactical nuclear torpedo ready to launch at will. Confronted with the complicated decision of either initiating nuclear war or standing idle against American forces, one Soviet navy officer was left pondering whether he should fire the nuke or not?
The Man Who Saved Us All
The Soviet navy officer to whom we all owe our lives was Vasili Aleksandrovich Arkhipov. A successful launch of a nuclear missile from a submarine required three officers to agree. Acting against the decision of his comrades, Arkhipov abstained from launching the nuclear missile on the American navy.
