Stanislav Petrov | |
---|---|
Born | Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov 7 September 1939 |
Died | 19 May 2017 | (aged 77)
Known for | 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident |
Spouse | Raisa Petrova (m. 1973; died 1997) |
Children | 2 |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Soviet Union |
Service/ | Soviet Air Defence Forces |
Years of service | 1972–1984 |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov (Russian: Станисла́в Евгра́фович Петро́в; 7 September 1939 – 19 May 2017) was a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces who played a key role in the 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident.[1] On 26 September 1983, three weeks after the Soviet military had shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported that a missile had been launched from the United States, followed by up to five more. Petrov judged the reports to be a false alarm.[2]
His subsequent decision to disobey orders, against Soviet military protocol,[3] is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its NATO allies that would have resulted in a large-scale nuclear war. An investigation later confirmed that the Soviet satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned. Because of his decision not to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike amid this incident, Petrov is often credited as having "saved the world".[4][5][6]
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