The History-Altering Decision
An underrated 20th-century hero, Vasili Arkhipov harnessed brave determination to save the world from the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Vasili Arkhipov on the right and an image of how far the Soviet missiles were able to
reach from when set up in Cuba.
You're second to command on a Soviet B-59 submarine 400 nautical miles under the Caribbean Sea. Panic ensues as frantic red lights pulsate the sub. Every single one of your Soviet comrades in this submarine believes that WW3 has just broken out. American vessels above you swarm, launching what seems to be a full-scale attack of charges. Captain Savitsky and political leader Ivan Semyonovch Masdlennikov both say “yes” to approve of a thermonuclear torpedo launch at the decaying western American pigs, but they still need one last vote.
It's now up to you, Vasili Arkhipov, to either accept or decline the launch of these T-5 torpedoes and change the course of history. 3… 2… 1. “Het! No torpedo launch! Zhey Vill NYOT BE FIRED! ZHEY MUST BE… как ты это скажешь? VARNING SHOTS, DA?! DO NOT ATTACK!” you scream in both your crumbling English and perfect Russian to your crew. Everyone is livid now, the crew mad at you, and you mad at their ignorance. Despite the rage and fear, everyone sucks up their anger and begins to surface. The whole journey up, every one of your Soviet submariner comrades eyes you, livid as you may have just cost everyone's life. 100 meters left… 50 meters left, 0 meters left. Every single one of those Imperialists eyes you down and in broken Russian expresses thank you for not bombing the ever living hell out of them and revealing that yes, it wasn’t an attack but simply warning charges.
The resurfacing of the B-59 submarine Arkhipov and his crew were trapped in.
Vasili Arkhipov’s brave decision to prevent the launch of T-5 torpedoes during that tense moment is what may have allowed people like you and me to ever be born. With such a short time to process everything, Arkhipov underlined one of the most influential and critical aspects of leadership: brave determination. He stood out like a beacon of hope in a stormy sea of panicking submariners. His abnormally calm composure in the potential attack and assuming they were warning charges only adds to his extraordinary output of courage. Alongside that, his decision to act wisely was vital to not only the people around him, but also to ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. His courageous stance reflects a deeper ethical conviction, demonstrating that true bravery in leadership often involves making principled choices under immense pressure.
Leadership should be classified as the expression of both bravery and determination. A true leader is someone willing to express both of these in unsatisfactory circumstances with full awareness of the responsibility they now possess. And in the case of Arkhipov, he was not someone who grew up with everything handed to him, but rather as someone who struggled to fit in.
Many unsung leaders grew up with harsh backgrounds, including Arkhipov. He was raised in a poor peasant family in a small town on the outskirts of Moscow called Staraya Kupavna. His education was quite simple, but then quickly transitioned to military schools throughout the Soviet Union.
Alexander C. R. Hammond, a writer at Human Progress, explains that Arkhipov’s schooling is an element that heavily influenced his participation in the military in conflicts such as the Russo-Japanese War. “After a typical public-school education, Arkhipov enrolled in the Pacific Higher Naval School–a facility that trained Soviet naval officers in 1942. Arkhipov first saw military action during the Soviet-Japanese War in August 1945, when he served aboard a minesweeper. In 1947, Arkhipov graduated from naval school and served on submarine vessels in the Black Sea and the Baltic,” (Hammond).
Although these aspects may seem basic for naval training, they significantly advanced Arkhipov’s life and shaped his knowledge and influence in leadership and decision-making. Paradoxically to what was expected, when Arkhipov returned to the CCCP, all his superiors treated him disgracefully. As Hammond put it, “some officers viewed the act of surfacing as one of surrender. One admiral told Arkhipov ‘it would have been better if you’d gone down with your ship,’”(Hammond).
Though backlash from superiors was harsh, it was likely they mainly interpreted and tunnel-visioned on the reputation of the Soviet Union, not consequences such as the global conflict awaiting them. This lack of professionalism by his superiors reveals the complex nature of leadership, especially since this situation and the Crisis are far different. Comparatively, one of these leaders grew up, struggled, and succeeded whereas the others likely only received power, and ignored the fact that rules are placed for reason.
Soviets set up missiles in Cuba, some of which may have been launched on Arkhipov’s ship.
Even though we know Arkhipov’s superiors despised him for not sending the torpedoes, the Cold War was already drastically increasing tensions between the capitalist U.S. and the communist U.S.S.R. For starters, the vastly different ideologies of these global superpowers and competing visions for Eastern Europe easily led to a battle of who had more power.
BBC simply explains, “The political and economic systems of the capitalist USA and communist USSR were incompatible…Both sides wanted countries to conform to their adopted ideologies for their own gains”. Since both countries wanted to spread their ideological influences, competition in already disheveled countries greatly increased.
This led to proxy wars, a form of conflict where two parties indirectly support an organization to win and take over lands, such as in the Afghanistan and Vietnam Wars. Another major cause of the Cold War was the Marshall Plan, a way President Truman intended to support Europe that was devastated by WW2. We can learn from the United States National Archives, which states, “On December 19, 1947, President Harry Truman sent Congress a message that followed Marshall’s ideas to provide economic aid to Europe. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948, and on April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the act that became known as the Marshall Plan. Over the next four years, Congress appropriated $13.3 billion for European recovery. This aid provided much needed capital and materials that enabled Europeans to rebuild the continent’s economy.” Since the western, central, eastern, and Balkan regions of Europe were utterly devastated by the fighting between the Axis and Allies, it’s clear that Truman planned to support Europe's recovery by sending financial aid.
But now we looked at Europe for long enough, why don’t we see what drama was going on 90 miles south of Florida? The United States was panicking, as right below it, Fidel Castro set up a communist regime and Soviet medium-range missiles. The U.S. was scared. According to the National Air and Space Museum, we entered “DEFCON 2—the step just below full-blown nuclear war—for the only time in U.S. history to date. This meant that at any given time, 56 B-52 Stratofortress bombers were in the air carrying nuclear weapons,” (Hankins). Since tensions were so high, especially for most people in the U.S., J.F.K frantically called the Soviet president at the time Nikita Khrushchev and made a deal stating that if the Soviets withdrew missiles from Cuba, the States would do the same from Türkiye. Luckily for us, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. then eventually signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on July 25, 1963, limiting the firing of nuclear weapons.
While bravery, vision, and strategy form the foundation of leadership, determination still stands as the base. In the example of Vasili, his need for determination was crucial. Even though he had the final vote, his ability to convince everyone to support his decision was ideal. Alongside that, his determination likely grabbed the attention of other submariners to stay focused on the bigger picture, as without that, they would tunnel their vision on just the attack, but not why they were attacked. These actions can help show what truly makes a great leader, and Francesca Ysabel Bernasconi from Penn State University agrees as well. Bernasconi believes that leadership requires determination to identify who will or will not be successful in the long run. She also believes that the aspect of determination in leadership can’t be said, but needs to be performed. “Without determination, nothing will come to fruition. The plans, ideas and goals will be stagnant without the perseverance to make them come to life. Oftentimes, traits such as determination are what separates effective leaders from those that are ineffective... To be an effective leader with unbounded determination, characteristics of determination such as drive, persistence, initiative, and dominance must evidently be seen and applied.” The impact of just one aspect of leadership can create a massive change in how someone appears, and that shows a lot in Arkhipov’s examples as well.
Arkhipov’s journey of sacrifice powerfully reminds us of the impact a single human being can have upon this world: one person does matter. His life was characterized by bravery and determination in leadership, essentially daring us to consider what our actions are about and what they will change. Whether it's the humble act of helping a neighbor or the courageous one to confront systems that can determine our future, each of us can make a difference. Let us draw inspiration from Arkhipov's courage to act decisively in the face of challenges, because every choice we make, however small, ripples out and has the potential to change lives.
Works Cited
BBC. “Ideological differences - Reasons for the Cold War - Higher History Revision.” BBC, 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8qnsbk/revision/3. Accessed 23 December 2024.
Bernasconi, Francesca Ysabel. “Determination is Key to Successful Leaders.” Leadership, 2019, https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2019/09/12/determination-is-key-to-successful-leaders/. Accessed 12 September 2019.
Hammond, Alexander C. R. “Heroes of Progress, Pt. 42: Vasili Arkhipov.” Human Progress, 2020, https://humanprogress.org/heroes-of-progress-pt-42-vasili-arkhipov/. Accessed 15 April 2020.
Hankins, Michael. “The Cuban Missile Crisis.” National Air and Space Museum, 9 May 2023, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/cuban-missile-crisis. Accessed 23 December 2024.
United States National Archives. “Home > Marshall Plan (1948).” National Archives, 29 June 2022, http://archives.gov/milestone-documents/marshall-plan. Accessed 23 December 2024.
