A Soviet officer who prevented nuclear Armageddon has passed away aged 77.
Stansilav Petrov was monitoring radar in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1983 when it showed that America had launched a salvo of nukes at Russia.
Despite panic among his subordinates Petrov decided not to retaliate, and it was later revealed the radar reading was false – generated by sunbeams reflected off some clouds.
Stanislav Petrov, a former Soviet lieutenant colonel credited with averting a nuclear Armageddon during the Cold War, has passed away aged 77
Petrov was in charge of monitoring Russian radar on the night of September 26, 1983, when it showed America had launched five nukes – calling for an immediate response (file image)
His actions and the nuclear near-miss went completely unacknowledged until military documents were declassified in 1998, bringing his heroism to light.
Even his wife, who died in 1997, was unaware that her husband had helped to avoid what almost certainly would have escalated into World War Three.
Speaking about the night in question – September 26, 1983 – the former lieutenant colonel told the Associated Press that the decision was ’50/50′.
He previously told RT: ‘When I first saw the alert message, I got up from my chair.
‘All my subordinates were confused, so I started shouting orders at them to avoid panic. I knew my decision would have a lot of consequences.
‘The siren went off for a second time. Giant blood-red letters appeared on our main screen, saying START. It said that four more missiles had been launched.
‘My cozy armchair felt like a red-hot frying pan and my legs went limp. I felt like I couldn’t even stand up. That’s how nervous I was when I was taking this decision.’
But Petrov (pictured in 2013 collecting the Dresden Prize) correctly identified the reading as a fake, and it was later confirmed to be nothing more than sunlight reflecting off some clouds
From the moment the first alarm sounded, Petrov had just 15 minutes to decide whether or not to report the launch, and Russia had 30 minutes to decide whether or not to respond.
Russia was genuinely fearful of a surprise attack by America at the time, after its military shot down a passenger plane flying to South Korea from the U.S., suspecting it of spying.
The United States, after a series of provocative military maneuvers, was preparing for a major NATO exercise, called Able Archer, which simulated preparations for a nuclear attack.
But figuring that America would have launched far more than five missiles in the case of an actual attack, Petrov reported that the alarm was a dud.
His decision was backed by more-reliable ground radar systems, which had failed to detect anything, but he recalled being far from certain when he made his report.
Had Petrov reported the warning as genuine, it could have prompted his commanders to launch retaliatory strikes against America – leading to World War Three (file image)
Petrov passed away back in March, but his death was only discovered earlier this month after a friend called to wish him a happy birthday and was informed that he had died
It turned out that his assumptions were correct, but rather than being rewarded, his actions were covered up by superiors, likely embarrassed by the failure of their early warning systems.
Accolades would only come years later after blogger Karl Schumacher convinced Petrov to travel to Germany with him, where his story could be told.
In the next several years Petrov was honored with an award from the Association of World Citizens which said: ‘To the man who averted nuclear war.’
Petrov was later given the German Media Prize, previously handed to Mandela and the Dalai Lama, and the Dresden Peace Prize, which is awarded for avoiding conflict.
Perhaps fittingly for a man whose greatest accomplishment went unnoticed for decades, Petrov passed away quietly back in May in a small town near Moscow.
His death was only discovered after Schumacher called on September 7 to wish him a happy birthday, and was told he had died.