Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov
Caspian Higher Naval School
Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov
Vasili Arkhipov was born on 30 January 1926 into a peasant family near Moscow in the town of Staraya Kupavna. His entrance into this world was a blessing to his family and the whole wide world in general, as he would in his later years play a huge role in saving many generations. There is scanty information about the names of his parents and whether or not he had siblings.
Arkhipov was incorporated into the Soviet Navy as a 13-year-old in 1932 and enrolled in the Pacific Higher Naval School. His inaugural encounter with the war was during the world war two when he was working on a minesweeper. Even before he joined Navy school, he was already serving at the Soviet Navy. He joined the Pacific Higher Naval School, and later graduated in 1947 from the Caspian Higher Naval School.
Little has been written about his earlier education, though. It is also not quite clear what specific subject he took in school. Without a doubt, though he must have been an all rounded student seeing that he at one time commandeered the B-59 submarine. Through his advancement in education, he was able to climb the ranks and become the deputy commander of the missile submarine K-19.
His career as a navy officer opened doors for him that would, in the end, lead to his demise as a rejected person who in disguise had been of so much importance to the people who never knew about him at the time he was alive. Save for his wife who described him as “an all time hero.” He started working at the Soviet Navy as a minesweeper in the year 1932. A position he held right until he graduated in 1947 and was appointed the Executive Officer of the submarine K-19, which used to carry ballistic missile weapons.
It was during the Cuban missile crisis in October 27th of 1962, when Arkhipov, aboard the diesel-powered nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-59, which led three other diesel-electric submarines on their way to Cuba in support of the delivery of nuclear weapons was located by the United States Navy destroyers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Randolph. Since they could not identify them they resulted into throwing explosives at them with the intention of forcing them to come to the surface so they could be identified.
These actions prompted the B-59 captain one Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, to have the notion that war had begun and a thought about whether he should launch a nuclear torpedo crossed his mind. However, he could not take such an action without first consulting two of his colleagues. These would be the political officer who at this time was Semonovich Maslennikov and the commander who happened to be Arkhipov. Of the three, only Arkhipov was against the launch. His decision was prompted by the memories of the disastrous nuclear attack that had been launched before during the world war two. It has been stated that the captain at one point lost his cool and became quite angry protesting Arkhipov opposition.
Nevertheless, Arkhipov kept his cool and maintained that it was a bad idea to launch the nuclear weapons. He exercised his wisdom to convince his colleagues not to launch the nuclear weapon attack. He suggested that the best action was to resurface and await instructions from Moscow. Seeing that by then the submarine's batteries had run very low and the air-conditioning had developed mechanical problems, they agreed and surfaced, and went back home to a nonheroic welcome. That act though helped avoid the nuclear warfare which would have followed had they fired nuclear weapons.
He would later in 1961 be assigned the role of an executive officer of the Soviet's new nuclear ballistic missile submarine, which had been named K-19. This is where Arkhipov's intelligence came under test. Before the K-19 made it's introductory voyage, it had to be serviced. However, the servicing did more harm than good, with the K-19 developing mechanical problems in the nuclear reactor's cooling system, which, had it not been immediately attended to, would have led to a disastrous situation. To save the ship and the crew, an emergency cooling system had to be constructed within the shortest time possible.
This action though it saved the ship, resulted in radiation exposure to the crew including Arkhopiv and, unfortunately, some of them died. Due to this, the remaining crew became hesitant which forced Arkhipov and the captain to work together in finding a solution to the impending unrest.
He commandeered the guard's tank division, armored forces of the Turkestan Military District, 1st Guards Army. He would go ahead and serve as the National People's Army. He carried his duties with an exceptional sense of responsibility which is why he kept on getting the appointment after the other.
He subsequently settled in Kupavna (which was incorporated into Zheleznodorozhny, Moscow Oblast, in 2004), where he died on 19 August 1998.
Having joined the Soviet Navy with little knowledge on submarines was a great achievement to Arkhipov. It took lots of determination and perseverance to serve in the army and study at the same time. He was persistent enough to see to it that he finished hs education and even went ahead to graduate. This saw him climb the ranks to become one of the most powerful people in the Soviet Navy. Again, it took wisdom and lots of patience to convince his colleagues not to launch nuclear attacks against the United States Navy. This to date remains the most spoken about achievement in the life and times of Vasili Arkhipov.
There has not been a clear reference to show which religion he conformed to, but in relation to his Russian culture, it can be said he was Islamic. If his selfless act to want to save the world from destruction is enough to conclude that he subscribed to a certain religious outfit.
Normally, employees of the Soviet Navy are not allowed to participate in politics. If by any chance Arkhipov would have wished to join politics, then he would have had to resign from the navy first. At no one point has it been mentioned that he ever had any political ambitions.
It was his wish to see that he left the world a better place to live in. After seeing what nuclear attack did to Hiroshima he made up his mind to do anything he could to prevent a similar attack. From how he kept his personal matters private, it can only be concluded that he believed in realising what was private and keeping it under wraps. By virtue of having few if any know about his immediate family, it can be said he respected the and believed that the family institution should be respected and kept away from the limelight.
Arkhivop's peasant beginnings seem to have instilled in him a sense of responsibility. He was hardworking in delivering his duties. The discipline he displayed and the willingness to be a team player would never go unmentioned. Even though nobody seemed to recognize the lengths he went through to execute his duties for the benefit of current and past generations, he never gave up and continued working even after the war was over.
Arkhipov was undeniably patient and courageous. He was also full of determination and humble, he allowed for discussions on what the best action to take was after they were attacked by the United States Navy. He did not impose his ideas on his colleagues despite his high rank. Not anywhere has there been the reference to portray that he was a domineering person. He believed in working together as a team. He was also a very down to earth person. Even after his action led to the salvation of an entire world from destruction, he did not strive to be recognized, he did not show how important he was, he, however, continued working and serving the people.
And even though the efforts he made to save the world from nuclear damage took long to be recognized, there is no doubt that his calm nature and intelligence was divine.
His wisdom and intelligence are clear for all to see. He was also very consistent in everything he did. A hardworking gentleman who denied himself fame to serve nations. He also obeyed authority, this was demonstrated when he suggested that there was dire need for them to surface in order to be identified, and also wait for further instructions from their seniors. He was intuitive and never gave up easily. He was slow to anger too as nowhere has it been portrayed that he ever differed with his colleagues. Those who knew and had a chance to work with him described him as a level-headed person, who had the ability to remain calm in the midst of dire situations.
Physical Characteristics: Vasili Arkhipov has been described as good looking with a full head of hair. He liked to comb his hair such that it formed a spit curl over his forehead. Arkhipov spent most of his time serving in the Soviet Navy. After the war was over, he got several appointments which he continued serving. It is not quite clear what his interests were.
Quotes from others about the person
Olga Arkhipov, widow of Vasili Arkhipov: "They said that the person who prevented a nuclear war was the Russian submariner Vasili Arkhipov. I was proud and I am proud of my husband always."
Ryurik Ketov, commander of Sub B-4: "Vasili Arkhipov was a submariner and a close friend of mine. He was a family friend. He stood out for being cool-headed. He was in control."
Arkhipov was married to Ogla and together they had a daughter. Little has been said about his siblings, other than the fact that he was born in a peasant family.
His colleagues during the moment that he saved the world were Captain Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky and political officer Semonovich Maslennikov. His other colleagues were his close friend and commander os the submarine B-4 Ryurik Ketov and Viktor Mikhailov who was a junior navigator in the submarine B-59.
