Pearson: Single act of defiance saved the world

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It was 62 years ago this month when I looked out our kitchen window in Calgary to see our neighbour operating a backhoe, digging a hole in his backyard. He had just watched the standoff between Russia and America in the Cuban missile crisis and was certain that atomic war was about to start. That deep hole eventually became a homemade bomb shelter.

I never forgot the image. The world I remember, as a 12-year-old, was standing on edge. The air was thick with tension, as the chessboard of international intrigue between the superpowers struck fear into everyone. The Soviet Union already had missiles in Cuba aimed at the American mainland, and with the threat of more on the way, President John F. Kennedy said enough is enough.

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It was terrifying because one miscalculation, one movement of panic, could ignite a fire that could consume the whole world. Yet, one Soviet officer, whose act of defiance rarely is mentioned, probably saved the world.

Aware that more tactical nuclear weapons were on their way to Cuba from the Soviet Union, Kennedy ordered a quarantine area around the island and reminded his enemy that any of his ships that violated the boundary would be sunk. At the very peak of the crisis, U.S. destroyers began dropping depth charges on submarines that crept up to the boundary.

Years later, it was revealed the inside temperature in those subs was 140 degrees (60 degrees C), and CO2 levels were so high Soviet sailors were passing out. Some were near death. More importantly, the vessels couldn’t communicate with anyone and had no way of knowing what was going on above.

Americans had no idea the Russian submarines had nuclear-tipped torpedoes. Impatient and frustrated, one Russian commander yelled, “Look, we’re at war. Let’s defend our dignity, and instead of just being murdered down here, let’s fire the torpedoes.” Had he followed through, military experts say there would have been a full-scale nuclear war.

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For that commander to launch his weapons, he required the approval of his two subordinate officers. One consented immediately. The second, Vassily Arkhipov, in whose hands the world’s fate suddenly rested, did not. It was the stuff of a Hollywood blockbuster, but it was for real.

It’s hard to imagine the pressure Arkhipov endured as he stood his ground against the Soviet military machine. He faced his commanding officer and said he would not give permission, stating  it was illegal to do so. Frustrated, his commander spun on his heels and walked away.

At just that time, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff raised their military preparedness to DEFCON 2, the only time it has ever been imposed. It was what historian Arthur Schlesinger called, “the most dangerous moment in history.” If Arkhipov had been on another sub or had concurred with his commander, it’s likely none of us would be around to consider this dramatic story. That’s how close we came to disaster.

My Calgary neighbour was justified in using his backhoe that day. But for the actions of one courageous Soviet officer, the world would have gone up in flames. Reviewing Arkhipov’s actions that day in a March 2016 column, National Geographic titled the piece, “You (and almost everyone you know) owe your life to this man.”

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We believed events were significantly dangerous then, but recently released historical records reveal it was far more fragile than any of us could have known. In retrospect, it forms a valuable lesson on the power of an individual to make a significant contribution to the human journey when thrust into crises not of their making. Or as Shakespeare put it: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

Arkhipov’s actions 62 years ago this month are a reminder of what was at stake in those secretive and shrouded days, and a testament to the human spirit’s resolve to survive when courage is required.

Glen Pearson is co-director of the London Food Bank and a former Liberal MP for London North Centre.
glen@glenpearson.ca

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