A documentary film dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis - the film "The Man Who Stopped the Third World War" was shown on television in the UK. It is dedicated to the heroic act of the commander of the Soviet submarine Vasily Alexandrovich Arkhipov. The picture is based on interviews of the surviving participants in the events of the end of October 1962.

Arkhipov's biography is like a Hollywood script.

In the summer of 1961, he participated in the campaign of the nuclear submarine K-19 as an understudy commander. On July 4, an accident occurred on the boat, threatening an atomic explosion. During its liquidation, a conflict arose on board the boat - several officers opposed the commander, captain of the 2nd rank Nikolai Zateev, demanding to flood the boat and land the crew on Jan Mayen Island. In this situation, commander Zateev was forced to take decisive measures to prevent a possible riot. So, he “ordered the commander of the BCH-2, lieutenant commander Mukhin, to drown the small arms on board, leaving the pistols for himself, the first mate Enin, the captain of the 2nd rank Andreev, the backup commander of the captain of the 2nd rank Arkhipov and the captain Mukhin, which was immediately executed “Thus, the captain of the 2nd rank Arkhipov turned out to be on the side of the commander in this conflict, advocating the maintenance of military discipline on board. The events that took place on K-19 formed the basis of the American film K-19: The Widowmaker ("K-19: The Widowmaker"). Like other officers on board, Arkhipov received a dose of radiation as a result of the accident.

From December 1961, Arkhipov became chief of staff of the 69th submarine brigade of the Northern Fleet, stationed in Saida-Guba. On October 1, 1962, as part of Operation Anadyr (during the Caribbean crisis), the brigade was sent to the coast of Cuba, while its command was not given clear instructions regarding the possibility of using atomic weapons.
On the eve of departure, Arkhipov specifically clarified with the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral V. A. Fokin: “It is not clear, Comrade Admiral, why we took atomic weapons. When and how should we apply it? Admiral Fokin was unable to answer this question, and the chief of staff of the Northern Fleet stated that the weapon could be used in the event of an attack on a boat that caused damage to it, or on special orders from Moscow.
The captain of the 2nd rank Arkhipov participated in the trip on the submarine B-59 of project 641 (Foxtrot according to NATO classification) with nuclear weapons on board, being the senior on board.

Submariner Arkhipov single-handedly prevented the outbreak of a nuclear war in the midst of the Cuban missile crisis, but died forgotten and unknown, writes the British newspaper The Daily Mail. Only recently the details of the story with his participation were declassified.

The film by British director Nick Green tells how for 13 days, exactly 50 years ago, the world, with bated breath, followed the confrontation between the USSR and the USA, which were literally on the brink of nuclear war. The culmination of the crisis was the order of the American leadership on a naval blockade of Cuba in order to force the USSR to remove nuclear missiles stationed there from the territory of this country.

In the conditions of the apotheosis of the Cold War and mutual paranoid suspicions, when the slightest provocation could start a war and eventually lead humanity to death, four submarines secretly sailed from the USSR to the shores of communist Cuba.

Only the leadership of the crews of the submariners knew that nuclear weapons were being carried on board the submarine, in terms of damaging potential equal to the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Vasily Arkhipov was one of three senior officers in command of the B-59 (NATO reporting name Foxtrot) submarine.

The submarine was supposed to break through the naval blockade established by the US Navy around the island and deploy a submarine base in Mariel Bay on the northern coast of Cuba.

However, American helicopters, planes and ships were already waiting for Soviet submarines near the island. The command ordered an emergency dive. For several days, the Americans continued to hunt for Soviet submariners. All this time, the sailors remained underwater in cabins in hellish heat up to 60 degrees Celsius, while each crew member relied on only one glass of water per day.

The American military, who had no idea that a weapon capable of instantly destroying the entire US fleet, was on board submarines, decided to guard the submerged submarines to the last. To smoke them to the surface, the Americans began to throw depth charges into the ocean.

Under water, everything looked like a combat attack. Since, when sailing from the USSR, three senior officers of the submarine were given permission to use nuclear weapons against the Americans in the event of their unanimous decision on this issue, B-59 captain Valentin Savitsky, being sure that the war had already begun, demanded that the torpedo be launched.

However, Arkhipov showed incredible composure and insisted on abandoning this decision. Then the officer ordered to move away from the coast of the United States and head home. Hours later, US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev reached an agreement that resolved the crisis.

Vasily Arkhipov retired with the rank of Rear Admiral. He passed away in 1999. The details of the campaign of Soviet submarines to the shores of the United States became known only in 2002.

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Caribbean crisis, which brought the world to the brink of a global catastrophe, a closed conference was held in Havana dedicated to this most important event in the political history of the last century.

During the conference, it became clear that the world was much closer to nuclear war than was commonly believed. At the conference, documents from the USSR and the USA devoted to these events were discussed, from which the secrecy stamp was removed.

In particular, the previously classified memoirs of Anatoly Dobrynin, the USSR ambassador to the United States, who quoted US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, were discussed.
On October 27, 1962, Kennedy declared that a war would soon break out, "in which millions of Russians and Americans will die." Kennedy, after a spy plane was shot down over Cuban territory, said: "The situation may well get out of hand, and the consequences of this cannot be predicted."

The conference also discussed the secret records of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, which on October 27, 1962 recommended the US leadership to launch an air strike on Cuba and launch an armed invasion of the island.

The closed conference was attended by Cuban President Fidel Castro, former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and a number of other figures from the administration of John F. Kennedy, who was US President in 1962. One of the organizers of the conference, Thomas Blanton of George Washington University, said that "a guy named Arkhipov saved the world."

After the end of the Caribbean crisis, Arkhipov continued to serve in his former position. In November 1964 he was appointed commander of the 69th Submarine Brigade. Then he commanded the 37th submarine division.

In December 1975, with the rank of rear admiral, he was appointed head of the Caspian Higher Naval School named after S. M. Kirov. He was in this position until November 1985. February 10, 1981 he was awarded the military rank of Vice Admiral.

After leaving the reserve, he lived in the dacha village of Kupavna (a microdistrict of the city of Zheleznodorozhny since 2004) in the Moscow Region. He was chairman of the council of veterans of the city of Zheleznodorozhny. He was buried in the cemetery of this city.

In 2003 he was posthumously awarded the National Prize of Italy - the Rotondi Prize. "Angels of Our Time" for stamina, courage, endurance, shown in extreme conditions. In January 2005 this award was presented to his widow.

Biography

Born into a peasant family in the village of Zvorkovo, Kirov District, Moscow Region.

• Father - Alexander Nikolaevich Arkhipov (-); mother - Maria Nikolaevna, nee Kozyreva (-).
• Wife - Olga Grigorievna, teacher; married since 1952, in the same year their daughter Elena was born.

Education

Soviet Navy officer

He served in officer positions on submarines in the Black Sea, Northern and Baltic fleets.

Accident on K-19

Captain 2nd rank Arkhipov participated in the cruise on the submarine "B-59" project  641 (Foxtrot according to NATO classification) with nuclear weapons on board, being the senior on board.

Claim [ Who?] that the commander of the submarine, Captain 2nd Rank Valentin Grigorievich Savitsky, prepared to launch an atomic torpedo in response. However, Arkhipov showed restraint, drew attention to the signals from the American ships and stopped the commander. As a result, the boat responded with the signal "Stop the provocation", after which the aircraft was withdrawn and the situation was somewhat discharged.

According to the memoirs of a participant in these events, Captain 2nd Rank Vadim Pavlovich Orlov, events developed less dramatically - the commander lost his temper, but two other officers, including Arkhipov, reassured him; according to other sources, only Arkhipov was against it. In any case, Arkhipov's role as senior on board was key to the decision.

During a conference in Havana on October 13, 2002, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Robert McNamara stated that nuclear war was much closer to its beginning than previously thought. One of the organizers of the conference, Thomas Blanton of George Washington University, said that "a guy named Arkhipov saved the world."

Continued service in the Navy

After the end of the Caribbean crisis, he continued to serve in his former position. In November he was appointed commander of the 69th submarine brigade. Then he commanded the 37th submarine division.

In December, with the rank of rear admiral, he was appointed head of the Caspian Higher Naval School named after S. M. Kirov. He held this position until November. On February 10, 1981, he was awarded the military rank of Vice Admiral.

Arkhipov Vasily Maksimovich(-), psalmist, martyr.

Born on July 26 in the village of Goretovo, Lukhovitsky district, Ryazan province, in a peasant family. Together with his father, he was engaged in agriculture.

From a year he served as a soldier in the army. After the death of their father in the year, the brothers divided the property. Vasily Maksimovich worked on his farm for up to a year, and then joined the collective farm.

By nature, he had a good voice and sang in the church on the kliros. In the year the rector of the temple invited him to officially take the position of a psalmist in the Pyatnitskaya church in his native village. Vasily Maksimovich traveled to the Moscow Patriarchate with a note of instruction to see the bishop in order to receive a blessing to take up the full-time position of a psalmist. Vladyka listened to him, blessed him to work in the church, promising to send a special order on his appointment through the dean. However, the beginning wave of persecution prevented this from being done.

On February 26, the authorities also arrested him and the novice Olga Zhiltsova. Headman Evdokia Arkhipova was arrested on February 16.

On the day of his arrest, Vasily Maksimovich was interrogated. The investigator, having asked him about the collection of money for the repair of the church, said:

- You, as a psalm reader, campaigned among the population for involving collective farmers in a group of believers, and also told the collective farmers that Soviet power was given to us as a punishment. They campaigned against the constitution, saying: there is a constitution, but in reality there is a persecution of the Orthodox Church. Do you plead guilty to conducting anti-Soviet agitation?

- No, I did not engage in agitation, I did not agitate the collective farmers to involve the group of believers, I did not fight against the constitution, and I did not agitate against the Soviet regime, I do not plead guilty to this.

After the interrogation, on the day of the arrest of the accused, the investigator finished the case and drew up an indictment.

On February 27, one of the chiefs reviewed the materials of the case and wrote on the cover: “Investigate. It is necessary to establish the counter-revolutionary activities of each accused by investigation. It is not clear from the case what Zhiltsova’s anti-Soviet activities consist of. raising money for the renovation of the church. No doubt this group had an organized activity." However, no other witnesses could be found.

March 8, the troika of the NKVD in the Moscow region under Art. 58-10 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR sentenced them to death for "participation in a counter-revolutionary group."

On March 14, the headman Evdokia (Arkhipova), Olga (Zhiltsova) and the psalmist Vasily Arkhipov were shot at the Butovo training ground near Moscow and buried in an unknown common grave.

Vasily Alexandrovich Arkhipov(January 30, 1926 - August 19, 1998, Kupavna, Moscow Region) - naval officer, vice admiral (1981).

Biography

Born into a peasant family in the village of Zvorkovo, Kirov District, Moscow Region.

• Father - Alexander Nikolaevich Arkhipov (1889-1960); mother - Maria Nikolaevna, nee Kozyreva (1901-1970).
• Wife - Olga Grigorievna, teacher; married since 1952, in the same year their daughter Elena was born.

Education

He graduated from 9 classes in the village of Klyazma, Pushkinsky district, Moscow region. In 1942 he entered the 10th grade of the Leningrad Naval Special School, which was evacuated to the Omsk Region, and in December 1942 - to the Pacific Higher Naval School for a preparatory course.

After graduating from the Pacific Higher Naval School, in 1945 he took part in the hostilities against Japan on minesweepers of the Pacific Fleet as a cadet-understudy commander of the BCH-1. After the end of World War II, together with the 3rd year of the school, he was transferred to the Caspian Higher Naval School in Baku, from which he graduated in 1947.

Soviet Navy officer

He served in officer positions on submarines in the Black Sea, Northern and Baltic fleets.

Accident on K-19

In the summer of 1961 he participated in the campaign of the nuclear submarine "K-19" as a backup commander.

On July 4, an accident occurred on a boat that threatened to melt down a nuclear reactor. During its liquidation, a conflict arose on board the boat - several officers opposed the commander, Captain 2nd Rank Nikolai Zateev, demanding that the boat be flooded and the crew landed on Jan Mayen Island. In this situation, the commander was forced to take drastic measures to prevent a possible riot. Yes, he:

“He ordered the commander of the BCH-2, lieutenant commander Mukhin, to drown the small arms on board, leaving pistols for himself, the first mate Enin, captain 2nd rank Andreev, backup commander captain 2nd rank Arkhipov and lieutenant commander Mukhin, which was immediately executed” .

Thus, Captain 2nd Rank Arkhipov ended up on the side of the commander in this conflict, advocating the maintenance of military discipline on board. The events that took place on the submarine "K-19" formed the basis of the American film "K-19: The Widowmaker" ("K-19: The Widowmaker"). Like other officers on board, Arkhipov received a dose of radiation as a result of the accident.

Involvement in the Caribbean Crisis

Since December 1961 - chief of staff of the 69th brigade of submarines of the Northern Fleet, based in Saida-Guba. On October 1, 1962, as part of Operation Anadyr (during the Caribbean crisis), the brigade was sent to the coast of Cuba, while its command was not given clear instructions regarding the possible use of atomic weapons. On the eve of departure, Arkhipov specifically clarified with the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral V. A. Fokin: “It is not clear, Comrade Admiral, why we took atomic weapons. When and how should we apply it? Admiral V. A. Fokin could not answer this question, and the chief of staff of the Northern Fleet stated that the weapon could be used in the event of an attack on the boat that caused damage to it (“a hole in the hull”) or by special order from Moscow.

Captain 2nd rank Arkhipov participated in the cruise on the submarine "B-59" project 641 ("Foxtrot" according to NATO classification) with nuclear weapons on board, being the senior on board.

On October 27, 1962, a group of 11 US Navy destroyers, led by the Randolph aircraft carrier, surrounded the B-59 submarine near Cuba; in addition, the boat was fired upon by an American aircraft, and according to the Soviet side, depth charges were also used against the boat.

They say [who?] that the commander of the submarine, Captain 2nd Rank Valentin Grigorievich Savitsky, prepared to launch an atomic torpedo in response. However, Arkhipov showed restraint, drew attention to the signals from the American ships and stopped the commander. As a result, the boat responded with the signal "Stop the provocation", after which the aircraft was withdrawn and the situation was somewhat discharged.

We have already written about the Russian Stanislav Petrov, who on September 26, 1983 saved the world by rethinking the situation. His feat would not have been possible if 21 years earlier there had not been another Russian, Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov, on board the Soviet submarine.

This is a story about a hero you may never have heard of. About a hero who, on October 27, 1962, probably saved the whole world. American historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. called what happened that day the most dangerous moment in human history.

With a finger on the button

On October 27, 1962, at the height of the Cuban Crisis, the US Navy discovered a Soviet submarine off Cuba. Diesel submarine B-59 was in international waters. Eleven American destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph, upon finding the submarine, began dropping depth charges to force the submarine to surface for identification.

The B-59 was sent by the Soviet Union to protect Soviet ships with nuclear weapons going to Cuba. The submarine itself had a nuclear weapon on board, which the Americans did not know about. She had no contact with Moscow for several days. The only thing that the crew of the submarine heard were American radio communications. These negotiations made it clear that the world was heading towards war.

B-59 communications chief Vadim Orlov later described the situation as follows: “The depth charges exploded right at the side of the submarine. It felt like you were sitting in a metal barrel being beaten with a sledgehammer. The situation for the crew was completely unusual, not to say shocking.

The end of the crew

The captain of the submarine was Valentin Grigorievich Savitsky. The temperature on board skyrocketed, the ship lost its light and power, and at the same time the level of carbon dioxide in the air rose to deadly levels. The sailors began to lose consciousness. And when the Americans began to use bombs of even larger caliber, the situation on board the B-59 became desperate: “We thought it was the end,” Orlov later said.

Complete panic

Panic broke out on board the submarine. Savitsky unsuccessfully tried to contact Moscow to find out if a war had started between the US and the Soviet Union. Having no contact with the leadership, he gave the order to prepare nuclear torpedoes for launch. As follows from Orlov's testimony, he shouted: “Probably, a war has started upstairs. We must take the fight. We will perish, but we will not dishonor the fleet!

The Times 10/14/2002

The captain of the Soviet submarine received compensation from Hollywood for the damage caused

The Independent 09/01/2004 The National Interest 12/07/2016 To launch a torpedo, Savitsky had to obtain the consent of two of his officers. Ivan Semenovich Maslennikov was the so-called political officer, and Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov was the first mate.

K-19

A year earlier, Arkhipov had encountered a similar situation in July 1961 on another Russian submarine, the K-19.

The case with this submarine is a different story, but on July 4 of the previous year, a radioactive leak occurred on board a submarine in the North Atlantic. In that situation, Arkhipov and the captain of the submarine managed to keep their cool and maintained contact with the American ships and with the crew, ready for a mutiny. And, as Mikhail Gorbachev later said, they took fundamental steps to avoid war. The submarine captain was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

Two against one

And a year later, in 1962, the captain of the submarine Savitsky and political officer Maslennikov wanted to launch an atomic torpedo, which, in all likelihood, would start a nuclear war between the two great powers - the United States and the Soviet Union.

Arkhipov reassured the captain and political officer and persuaded them to wait for a message from the high command of the Soviet Union before using nuclear weapons.

5.5 thousand ready to launch nuclear missiles

If an atomic torpedo had been launched, the Soviet Union would have given the order to bring Soviet nuclear weapons into action against London and Germany. The plans of the Pentagon in the United States were called SIOP - Single Integrated Operation Plan. 5,500 nuclear missiles were to be fired at communist targets (including China and Albania).

On board the B-59, backup batteries and the oxygen system were no longer working. After a loud argument, the submarine surfaced.

A nuclear war was avoided thanks to a Soviet officer who kept his cool.

Arkhipov died in 1998 at the age of 72. The cause of death was the effects of radiation exposure to which he was exposed while serving on the K-19 submarine. His story was not published until after his death.

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