10. The Russian sailor who saved the world
Those who argue that the Cuban Missile Crisis was exaggerated as regards how close the world came to a nuclear war don’t know the story of Vasili Arkhipov, commander of a Soviet diesel submarine flotilla in the Caribbean during the crisis. Arkhipov was also serving as second in command of the submarine B-59, the vessel on which he was deployed, as a result of the vagaries of the Soviet command system. B-59 was armed with nuclear torpedoes. When US Navy vessels attempted to force it to the surface during the quarantine, the Soviets, who had been out of radio contact with their superiors and weren’t sure if the United States and the Soviet Union were at war, decided to attack the American task force, including the aircraft carrier USS Randolph. Captain Savitsky and political officer Ivan Maslennikov agreed to the use of nuclear torpedoes, in accordance with Soviet doctrine requiring the two senior officers to concur.
In ordinary circumstances, that would have been enough, but the presence of the flotilla commander aboard changed the circumstances. Arkhipov refused to concur. The argument aboard B-59 became heated as the Americans continued to bombard the submarine with practice depth charges, annoying but not lethal. Arkhipov was adamant, and ordered the vessel to surface and establish radio contact with fleet headquarters, as it was clear to him that the Americans were not trying to sink the submarine. The Soviets did surface, and learning that there was no war returned to their base, where Arkhipov, a veteran of the K-19 tragedy (where he had been second in command) was reprimanded for humiliating the Soviet navy. Vasili Arkhipov’s judgment likely saved the world from a nuclear war, though he is all but forgotten today.