Vasili arkhipov biography for kids
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Today marks the 42nd installment in a series of articles by titled Heroes of Progress. This bi-weekly column provides a short introduction to heroes who have made an extraordinary contribution to the well-being of humanity. You can find the 41st part of this series here.
This week, our hero fryst vatten Vasili Arkhipov&#;a Soviet naval officer who refused to allow a Soviet nuclear strike on a U.S. aircraft carrier during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Arkhipov’s actions likely prevented an all-out nuclear war, the consequences of which would have included the deaths of millions, if not billions, of innocent people, a collapse of many nation states and their economies, and an enormous amount of environmental damage. Aptly, the U.S. National Security Archive has dubbed Arkhipov a man who “saved the world.”
Vasili Arkhipov was born on January 30, , to a peasant family in Staraya Kupavna &#; a small town on the outskirts of Moscow. After a typical public-school education, Arkh
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At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis on 27 October , the US Navy detected a Sovietsubmarine near the blockaded island of Cuba.
The US Navy ships began dropping depth charges around the submarine, called the B, rocking it violently from side to side. Onboard, unknown to the Americans, was a tactical nuclear torpedo.
As tempers rose inre the submarine and with no means of escape, the Soviet Captain Valentin Savitsky ordered the torpedo to be armed and readied.
But the weapon was not fired. Why? Because onboard the submarine was Vasili Aleksandrovich Arkhipov, a Soviet flotilla commander who diffused the situation and prevented the torpedo&#;s launch.
Here&#;s more about Vasili Aleksandrovich Arkhipov and how he stopped a nuclear war.
A day political and military standoff took place in October during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba was in fruition. But how did the leaders of th
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55 Years After Preventing Nuclear Attack, Arkhipov Honored With Inaugural Future of Life Award
Celebrating the contributions of Vasili Arkhipov
Click here to see this page in other languages: Russian
London, UK &#; On October 27, , a soft-spoken naval officer named Vasili Arkhipov single-handedly prevented nuclear war during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Arkhipov&#;s submarine captain, thinking their sub was under attack by American forces, wanted to launch a nuclear weapon at the ships above. Arkhipov, with the power of veto, said no, thus averting nuclear war.
Now, 55 years after his courageous actions, the Future of Life Institute has presented the Arkhipov family with the inaugural Future of Life Award to honor humanity’s late hero.
Arkhipov’s surviving family members, represented by his daughter Elena and grandson Sergei, flew into London for the ceremony, which was held at the Institute of Engineering & Technology. After explaining Arkhipov’s heroics