S
Sculli
Guest
GORBACHEV NOMINATES 1961 SOVIET SUB CREW FOR NOBEL PRIZE
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev nominated the crew of the
ill-fated Soviet nuclear submarine K-19, which suffered a loss of
coolant accident on July 4, 1961, for a Nobel Peace Prize this week.
"Through the courage of the heroic sailors, a reactor explosion and a
consequent environmental catastrophe in the ocean were averted," Mr.
Gorbachev wrote.
"An explosion on board the K-19 could have been taken for a military
provocation or even an attempt to launch a nuclear strike on the
North American coast. An immediate response by the United States
could have triggered a Third World War," he wrote.
He noted that all information about the 1961 accident was kept secret
in the USSR until 1990.
See "Gorbachev Proposes Soviet Sub Crew for Nobel Peace Prize,"
Interfax News Agency, translated by the DNI Open Source Center,
Feburary 1, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/gorb020106.html
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Interestingly enough the K-19 people were looked upon as traitors once upon a time. It was only decades after the accident that they were vindicated.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev nominated the crew of the
ill-fated Soviet nuclear submarine K-19, which suffered a loss of
coolant accident on July 4, 1961, for a Nobel Peace Prize this week.
"Through the courage of the heroic sailors, a reactor explosion and a
consequent environmental catastrophe in the ocean were averted," Mr.
Gorbachev wrote.
"An explosion on board the K-19 could have been taken for a military
provocation or even an attempt to launch a nuclear strike on the
North American coast. An immediate response by the United States
could have triggered a Third World War," he wrote.
He noted that all information about the 1961 accident was kept secret
in the USSR until 1990.
See "Gorbachev Proposes Soviet Sub Crew for Nobel Peace Prize,"
Interfax News Agency, translated by the DNI Open Source Center,
Feburary 1, 2006:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/02/gorb020106.html
**********
Interestingly enough the K-19 people were looked upon as traitors once upon a time. It was only decades after the accident that they were vindicated.