A Soviet flagship nuclear submarine B-59 was moving past a US Navy barricade near the coast of Cuba. On board it held nuclear torpedos, every single one of them held 10 Kilotons of explosive power, enough to destroy anything within a 12 kilometer radius of the explosion, and there were 20 on board. If one of the nuclear torpedoes was ever used to attack an enemy, immediately a nuclear war would begin destroying the whole planet in 2 hours.
To stay undetected by the American radars, for the last 3 days, the submarine had to maintain a very great depth.
Although they had accomplished the task of staying hidden from the Americans, the radio signals were blocked – disabling communications with Moscow. So the three commanders on board had to rely on their own observations to decide whether a war had broken out yet.
The explosion was unexpected. It created a shockwave that shook the soviet sub from aft to stern throwing the men onto the floor.
The noise of the explosion deafened the crew for a few dreadful moments, rolling on the floor and clutching their ears. But otherwise no major damage was done. Captain Savitsky, a 38 year old veteran, at this point had absolutely no doubt that the capitalists had attacked his ship in an act of aggression, symbolising the beginning of the end: the third and the last war in the history of humanity. Although he was not quite certain that the global disaster had begun, he knew for a fact that if he didn’t launch the torpedoes, the Soviet Union would be obliterated before their enemy.
What Savitsky didn’t realize at the time, was that the bomb dropped on his submarine was a device used by the American Navy to force enemy vehicles to come up to the surface, so that radio communication could be established between the two parties. In the barricade these were dropped regularly to ensure that no one could pass without their knowledge, after all, president Kennedy promised that if the soviets tried to sneak more nuclear missiles to Cuba, military action would be used.
At this point in time, war hadn’t begun – but the next decision Savitsky made could easily start it.
“So, are we launching those torpedos?” Savitsky asked the two other commanders, without whose decisions he did not have a right to strike.
Ivan Maslennikov, who for the past 18 years had been brainwashed by soviet propaganda, could not resist saying no. He hated everything about capitalism – the fact that everyone was divided into classes, the fact that the higher class owned most of the property, and the idea that unlike in the Soviet Union, the people were at the mercy of market forces. And most importantly – he hated America for intervening in every single conflict in the world, and killing his father in Vietnam 7 years ago.
He nodded his head in agreement to Savitsky – he wanted revenge.
With two out of the three commanders agreeing to launch the nuclear torpedo, it was up to Vasiliy Arkhipov to determine the fate of humanity, since they hadn’t been receiving any radio signals from the USSR, he could never be certain that the war had begun. Unlike the other two men, he believed that the bomb dropped on their submarine was not a real bomb as it hadn’t caused any damage to the structure. It was a very tough decision for Arkhipov to make, but in the end he decided that, although what the other two commanders were saying was very logical, he trusted his own observations over the opinions of others. He said “No, we are not launching anything!”
The thunderous expressions on Savitsky’s and Maslennikov’s faces said everything; they were spitting fury. Arkhipov did not cave in under the weight of their, otherwise, compelling arguments. He stood there, and calmly said once more, “No”.
His veto prevented a nuclear war from breaking out and for his service in the military was awarded multiple awards, including the hero of the Soviet Union – the most prestigious medal of all.
Remember! This is just a sample.
You can get a custom paper by one of our expert writers.
Get your custom essay
Helping students since 2015
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download