The Man Who Saved the World
Many would say the closest humanity has ever come to the Cold War turning hot was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Indeed, the crisis had a handful of close calls. However, it was 20 years later that the decision of one man prevented the onset of a third World War. That man was Stanislav Petrov.
At half-past midnight on September 26, 1983, in a facility just outside of Moscow, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov sat at his computer, monitoring the Soviet satellite system for signs of a U.S. attack. [1] For decades, the Cold War had trudged on, threatening to turn hot, but never quite reaching the point of no return. However, that night, Petrov was faced with a horrifying reality that twisted a routine activity into a moment of unthinkable terror: the warning system had sounded. The U.S. had launched a nuclear missile, thereby declaring World War Three.
Over a series of intensely stressful minutes, one missile heading toward the U.S.S.R. turned to five. [2] To Petrov and his staff, it was entirely within reason to suspect the U.S. had decided to launch a nuclear assault on the Soviet Union. With limited information and a brief window of time to respond, Petrov was burdened with the authority to decide what must be done. Was he going to report the incident to his superiors in Moscow? The protocol was clear: in the event of a nuclear attack, Petrov was to immediately notify Moscow so they could launch a counterattack. [3] The window of time to retaliate was brief. The Soviet high command would have to act and hope that their information was accurate. On the other hand, Petrov could make the far bolder and, arguably, more difficult choice: do nothing at all. The choice to sit there, waiting, praying that he was not witnessing the onset of a nuclear apocalypse.
Petrov was the commanding officer at the time, in charge of 120 employees. [5] It is likely that nobody there would have questioned Petrov had he decided to report the attack. The data seemed rock solid. Every reading indicated that the reported missiles were on track. [5] Even without the data backing the attack, there was reason to believe it might be happening. The U.S. had escalated its Cold War efforts under Ronald Reagan, referring to the USSR as an “evil empire” and placing nuclear missiles capable of striking Moscow in West Germany and the United Kingdom. [6] With reliable data, switchboard operators watching to see what he would do, and a recent series of Cold War escalations backing up the possibility of a nuclear attack, Petrov decided to dismiss the readings as a false alarm. Knowing that his treasonous dissent could cost the lives of countless Soviet citizens and rob his country of the chance to retaliate, Stanislav Petrov did not report the possible attack. [7]
Years later, when asked why he did what he did, Petrov provided two reasons. The first was analytical. Petrov himself, recalling the incident years later, said, “I just couldn't believe that just like that, all of a sudden, someone would hurl five missiles at us. Five missiles wouldn't wipe us out. The U.S. had not five, but a thousand missiles in battle readiness." [8] Despite the chaos of the situation and the weight of the decision resting on his shoulders, Petrov was able to step back and consider the situation practically. Fundamentally, the U.S. launching just five missiles made no sense. It would only take one missile to spark a full nuclear retaliation from the other side. If the U.S. wanted a full-on war, they would have launched enough to wipe out the enemy completely.
While Petrov had credible reasons to believe the attack was a false alarm, logic wasn’t the only thing motivating him. In fact, if it was, he may have reported the launch as real. Petrov would later recall that at the time of the incident, he believed it was 50-50 whether the attack was real or not. [9] "I imagined if I'd assume the responsibility for unleashing the third World War - and I said, no, I wouldn't," Petrov explained. [10] Every day before going into work, that thought repeated in his mind, and on September 26, 1983, it saved the world from destruction. [11]
Twenty-three minutes after Petrov made his decision, when the nuclear strike would have long since occurred if it had been real, relief filled the room. [12] Upon investigation, it was revealed that the satellites mistook the sun reflecting off the clouds as an incoming missile. [13] Initially, Petrov was praised for his quick thinking, but the investigators soon sought to turn him into a scapegoat. [14] In the end, however, Petrov was not recognized for his achievements, nor was he reprimanded for his perceived failures.
Despite the intensity of the situation and the lack of recognition he received for making the right call in the end, Petrov was glad it was him on duty that night. Reflecting on his decision, Petrov discussed how he was the only officer in his unit with a civilian education, stating, “My colleagues were all professional soldiers, they were taught to give and obey orders.” [15] According to Petrov, any one of his fellow officers would have done what he did not and reported the attack as real.
Stanislav Petrov died in 2019 at the age of 77. News of his death was not widely known until months later when an attempt to wish him a happy birthday in September led his son to reveal that his father had passed away in May. [16] Until his death, Petrov never viewed himself as a hero and believed that he was simply doing his job. [17] He conceded, however, that the world was lucky it was his shift that night. [18]
Notes:
[1] Anastasiya Lebedev, “The Man Who Saved the World Finally Recognized,” Association of World Citizens (MosNews, May 21, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000030/http://www.worldcitizens.org/petrov2.html.
[2] Dylan Matthews, “39 Years Ago Today, One Man Saved Us from World-Ending Nuclear War,” Vox (Vox, September 26, 2018), https://www.vox.com/2018/9/26/17905796/nuclear-war-1983-stanislav-petrov-soviet-union.
[3] Max Fisher, “How World War III Became Possible,” Vox (Vox, June 29, 2015), https://www.vox.com/2015/6/29/8845913/russia-war.
[4] Mattern, Douglas. 2006. “The Five Minute Decision That Saved the World.” Humanist 66 (4): 7–8. https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn& AN=21310563&site=ehost-live.
[5] Anastasiya Lebedev, “The Man Who Saved the World Finally Recognized,” Association of World Citizens (MosNews, May 21, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000030/http://www.worldcitizens.org/petrov2.html.
[6] Dylan Matthews, “39 Years Ago Today, One Man Saved Us from World-Ending Nuclear War,” Vox (Vox, September 26, 2018), https://www.vox.com/2018/9/26/17905796/nuclear-war-1983-stanislav-petrov-soviet-union.
[7] Pavel Aksenov, “Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who May Have Saved the World,” BBC News (BBC, September 26, 2013), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24280831.
[8] Anastasiya Lebedev, “The Man Who Saved the World Finally Recognized,” Association of World Citizens (MosNews, May 21, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000030/http://www.worldcitizens.org/petrov2.html.
[9] Simon Shuster, “Interview: Stanislav Petrov, Russian Who Averted Nuclear War,” Time (Time, September 19, 2017), https://time.com/4947879/stanislav-petrov-russia-nuclear-war-obituary/.
[10] Anastasiya Lebedev, “The Man Who Saved the World Finally Recognized,” Association of World Citizens (MosNews, May 21, 2024), https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000030/http://www.worldcitizens.org/petrov2.html. [11] Ibid.
[12] Pavel Aksenov, “Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who May Have Saved the World,” BBC News (BBC, September 26, 2013), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24280831.
[13] Dylan Matthews, “39 Years Ago Today, One Man Saved Us from World-Ending Nuclear War,” Vox (Vox, September 26, 2018), https://www.vox.com/2018/9/26/17905796/nuclear-war-1983-stanislav-petrov-soviet-union.
[14] David Hoffman, “'I Had A Funny Feeling in My Gut',” The Washington Post (WP Company, February 10, 1999), https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/shatter021099b.htm.
[15] Pavel Aksenov, “Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who May Have Saved the World,” BBC News (BBC, September 26, 2013), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24280831.
[16] Greg Myre, “Stanislav Petrov, 'The Man Who Saved the World,' Dies at 77,” NPR (NPR, September 18, 2017), https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/18/551792129/stanislav-petrov-the-man-whosaved-the-world-dies-at-77.
Bibliography
Aksenov, Pavel. “Stanislav Petrov: The Man Who May Have Saved the World.” BBC News. BBC, September 26, 2013. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24280831.
Fisher, Max. “How World War III Became Possible.” Vox. Vox, June 29, 2015. https://www.vox.com/2015/6/29/8845913/russia-war.
Hoffman, David. “'I Had A Funny Feeling in My Gut'.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 10, 1999. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/shatter021099b.htm.
Lebedev, Anastasiya. “The Man Who Saved the World Finally Recognized.” Association of World Citizens. MosNews, May 21, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000030/http://www.worldcitizens.org/petrov2.html.
Mattern, Douglas. “The Five Minute Decision That Saved the World.” Humanist 66, no. 4 (July 2006): 7–8. https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db= asn&AN=21310563&site=ehost-live.
Matthews, Dylan. “39 Years Ago Today, One Man Saved Us from World-Ending Nuclear War.” Vox. Vox, September 26, 2018. https://www.vox.com/2018/9/26/17905796/nuclear-war-1983-stanislav-petrov-soviet-union .
Myre, Greg. “Stanislav Petrov, 'The Man Who Saved the World,' Dies at 77.” NPR. NPR, September 18, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/18/551792129/stanislav-petrov-the-man -who-saved-the-world-dies-at-77.
Shuster, Simon. “Interview: Stanislav Petrov, Russian Who Averted Nuclear War.” Time. Time, September 19, 2017. https://time.com/4947879/stanislav-petrov-russia-nuclear-war-obituary/.
Picture Credits:
Chan, Sewell. “Stanislav Petrov, Soviet Officer Who Helped Avert Nuclear War, Is Dead at 77.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 18, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/world/europe/stanislav-petrov-nuclear-war-dead.html.
Rozsa, Matthew. “This Is What Would Happen to Earth If a Nuclear War Broke out between the West and Russia.” Salon. Salon.com, March 11, 2022. https://www.salon.com/2022/02/19/this-is-what-would-happen-to-earth-if-a-nuclear-brokeout-between-the-west-and/.
Tooley, Mark. “The ‘Evil Empire’ Speech, 40 Years Later.” WORLD, March 8, 2023. https://wng.org/opinions/evangelicals-and-reagans-evil-empire-speech-stand-vindicated-16 78277499.
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