Vasily Arkhipov is one of the great heroes of history.
He has been described as the man who saved the world.
But very few people know who he is and what he did.

Since their invention in the 1940s by both the Americans and Russians,
the atom has been a method of global destruction that humanity has ever faced.
Before their existence would lead to death and destruction on a massive scale.
Nuclear power heightened that danger even more. It threatened the end of life on the planet.

The first time this danger was faced, was around the beautiful Caribbean island of Cuba in the 1960s. Cubans had recently witnessed a communist revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959. The United States, an ally of its dictatorial predecessor, Fulgencio Batista, placed an embargo on Cuba. In 1961 an American supported invasion by Cuban emigrants was defeated at the Bay of Pigs. All this drove the Cuban regime into the arms of the Soviet Union. To deter future attacks in October 1962 the Soviet Union installed nuclear missiles in Cuba . For the United States this was a threat next door that it couldn't allow. US President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy to blockade Cuba, using ships and submarines from entering or leaving the island. The Soviet Union sent nuclear submarines to protect its vessels.
This is where Vasily Arkhipov comes into the story. He was second in command on a nuclear armoured B-59 submarine near Cuba. The US navy was aware that there were Soviet submarines in the area, but not that they were nuclear armed. They dropped explosives to encourage them to surface. The orders of the Soviet submarines was to retaliate with nuclear missiles if attacked. Any rash action could spark a nuclear holocaust.
Soviet nuclear subs could travel the globe without being discovered. They were armed to fight their corner. But when submerged were unable to communicate with Moscow. At this time the officers on the sub didn't know if a World War had already begun.
The captain and communist political officer were in favour launching their nuclear missile. This was in accordance with orders. This would also have sparked retaliation from the Americans and a global war.
Vasily Arkhipov, aware that he was disobeying orders, was defiant. He argued that the risk was too great and they needed to double check with Moscow. Eventually he persuaded his colleagues to surface the sub (which was also against orders). They contacted Moscow. They were ordered to refrain from launching their missile. The holocaust was averted thanks to this man.