Vasili Arkhipov (1926–1998) was a Soviet naval officer who played a critical role in preventing the escalation of the Cuban Missile Crisis into a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war as the United States discovered Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba. The tension between the two superpowers was extremely high, and a U.S. naval blockade of Cuba was in effect.

On October 27, 1962, the situation reached a critical point when a Soviet submarine, the B-59, was located by U.S. Navy forces near Cuba. The submarine was equipped with nuclear torpedoes, and the crew had been out of contact with Moscow for an extended period. The U.S. Navy began dropping depth charges to force the submarine to the surface, not realizing that the B-59 was armed with nuclear weapons.

The submarine’s captain, Valentin Savitsky, and political officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, believed that war might have already broken out, and they were seriously considering launching a nuclear torpedo. However, Vasili Arkhipov, who was the flotilla commander and second-in-command on the B-59, strongly opposed the decision to launch the nuclear weapon. Arkhipov’s dissenting vote was crucial in preventing the nuclear attack.

Arkhipov’s intervention helped to avert a nuclear catastrophe. The incident remained largely unknown until the 2002 release of previously classified information. Vasili Arkhipov’s actions have since been recognized as having had a significant impact on preventing the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating into a nuclear war.

After his military service, Arkhipov continued his naval career and rose to the rank of vice admiral in the Soviet Navy. He passed away on August 19, 1998. In recognition of his role in preventing nuclear war, Vasili Arkhipov has been posthumously praised as a hero, and his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis are widely acknowledged as having helped maintain global peace.