Vasili Arkhipov

Naval Officer

January 30, 1926 Zvorkovo, Russia

August 19, 1998 Zheleznodorozhny, Russia

Olga Arkhipova

Vasili Arkhipov was a Soviet Navy officer who is credited for 'saving the world' from a nuclear war by casting the decisive vote that prevented a Soviet nuclear strike on U.S. aircraft carrier USS Randolph during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 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 to surface for identification. Leading a secretive mission into enemy territory, the captain of the submarine had already decided to launch the installed nuclear warhead on the enemy ships. However, it was the calm and composed flotilla commander Arkhipov who went against the captain and the political officer and convinced his colleagues that the depth charges were routine practice, and not an indication of war. After the incident was revealed to the media 40 years later, it became a media sensation, and was later made into the dramatized BBC documentary titled 'Missile Crisis: The Man Who Saved the World'. He was also a part of the K-19 crew which had faced a tragic accident that was later made into the movie 'K-19: The Widowmaker'.