This Is Where I Am From ...

... last three seconds of the documentary--my classmates (well, all of them are) late Igor Dmitrienko and, yes, Igor Dmitriev-- later CO of Alrosa SSKand Jackie Chan friend. Most of those people shown here--are my contacts today. Finally it is on UTube (albeit by far not all of it). 

And, of course Vice-Admiral Arkhipov. 

This Is An Incredible Find...

The 1971 footage of the opening of the monument to fallen heroes, marines, graduates of my academy in Great Patriotic War. Superintendent of academy, Vice-Admiral Stepanov gives a speech, plus some footage from the graduation in 1971, including march of elements of foreign naval cadets, you can immediately spot Germans and Cubans, plus others. What a find!

Very Personal.

They are the class of 1989 (I am 1985). The video was uploaded in 2009 (this is NOT the class of 2009--by then it did not exist) Baku and my Naval Academy, which even today continues to deliver...

Knee bending ceremony is for Stalingrad's Marines (Naval Infantry), I still remember me and Admiral Kemp Tolley almost crying to each-other on the phone in 1997 about what we knew from those years--I'll give you a hint, Kemp Tolley knew our WW II superintendent really well. He, of course, wrote Caviar and Commissars too.  He was THERE. 

 

But if anyone needs other reference points, here is Sasha Turilin (Tourilin), well Rear-Admiral Alexander Turilin (class of 1983), they were our company's Seniors (yes, we drank together):

One of many others among my class-mates, company and faculty fiends and buddies, many of them today people who face realities of the modern world. No bigger than late Vice-Admiral Vasily Alexandrovich Arkhipov, whom I had an honor, the same as knowing Rear-Admiral Kemp Tolley to know in person, physically, or sometimes over the phone. Those who wanna see early 1980s in Baku with English--here it is;-)

Today Baku is STILL stunning, as it was in 1970s and 1980s. It probably is even better but just lacking something...But it still comes to me in my dreams...

Those who don't know who Vice-Admiral Arkhipov IS, Google Caribbean Crisis, he didn't allow the world to die, he was Commander then, Chief Of Staff of 69th Brigade of Diesel Submarines, those proverbial Project 641 (Foxtrots). 

Arkhipov.

Two days ago The Guardian posted the article about a very dear and respected by me man. At my time in 1980s, a superintendent of my naval academy, Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov. When I started my naval military exploits in 1980 he was a rear-admiral, later, in 1981 he was promoted to the vice-admiral and, of course, we all knew his story. I had an honor to know, as many our naval cadets and officers, him personally and serve aKVVMKU--my years. nd study under his outstanding command. 

Soviet submarine officer who averted nuclear war honored with prize

“The Future of Life award is a prize awarded for a heroic act that has greatly benefited humankind, done despite personal risk and without being rewarded at the time,” said Max Tegmark, professor of physics at MIT and leader of the Future of Life Institute. “The lesson from this is that a guy called Vasili Arkhipov saved the world,’’ Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, told the Boston Globe in 2002, following a conference in which the details of the situation were explored.

It couldn't have been awarded, however posthumously, to a better man than Admiral Arkhipov. Some photos of Vasili Alexandrovich.

Arkhipov and Admiral Kosov, Chief of Naval Aacdemies of USSR--both graduates of our academy. 

 

Entrance to Systema as Academy was called. 

Admiral's Grave

KVVMKU--my years. Many my class-mates from class of 1985 here. Of course, most interesting things are not in this video, as you may expect (in English).  

Vasili Alexandrovich is also in this video.