Page 145 - Musings 2022

“Vasili, what will you do? Live as a hero? Or die a pariah and a coward?” urged Savitsky.

“This man is hellbent on dying a martyr...” thought Vasili. The world seemed to lose focus.
The weight of the decisions he was entrusted with came crashing upon him like a wave. No

amount of training could prepare him for this. Suddenly his wife’s words echoed in his mind.
Her beautiful, serene smile, as clear as spring water came in his view, when she had just given

birth to their daughter. “Vasili, you have a lot of responsibilities as an officer for our

Motherland. But I believe in you to take care of us all. So does this little one.”
Slowly, Vasili recovered his wits. His resolve strengthened and the right decision to make

became as clear as day. He flashed a gentle smile towards both his superiors, and they smiled
back. “Finally, Vasili, you’ve decided on the right course of action. I am glad that we have an

officer as brave as you. The Motherland will thank you for your determination and will, I

guarantee it.” said Ivan, in a flattering voice, typical of politicians.
And so, Vasili slowly took out his authorization key and tossed it in the garbage chute of the

submarine.
“You fool!” hollered Ivan. “What have you done? Do you have any idea?” screamed Savitsky.

“I do. And I have done the right thing. I refuse to authorise the launch of a weapon of mass
destruction based on the whims of two hasty officers without concrete evidence of a war. I

apologise for my demeanour and will take full responsibility in case of a court martial.” replied

Vasili.
While the debate amongst the trio continued and the two continued hurling insults towards

Vasili, the submarine eventually had to return to the Soviet waters to avoid the entire ballista
from drowning.

The rest is history. Immediately upon return to Russia, many crew members were faced with

disgrace from their superiors. However, Vasili’s wife, Olga, never blamed him for his
decisions, and the two continued living their lives alongside their daughter.

Arkhipov continued in Soviet Navy service, commanding submarines, and later submarine
squadrons; ultimately being promoted to Vice Admiral before his retirement. Vasili died after

a few years, due to kidney cancer, possibly due to the incident on the experimental nuclear

submarine that left him irradiated. While his compatriot officers attempted a vainglorious
martyrdom, Arkhipov’s levelheadedness helped him overcome his mental conflict, while

paving the way for the world to preserve itself to ultimately resolve the large-scale global
conflict. Well, that was until, another nuclear close call was averted by Stainslav Petrov, but

that is a story for another time.

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