On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov helped prevent the outbreak of nuclear war by simply following his gut.
Nikolai Ignatiev/Alamy Stock PhotoStanislav Petrov, the Soviet Army lieutenant colonel who prevented a nuclear war.
Not many people know just how close the world came to a nuclear war better than Stanislav Petrov.
Petrov was a few hours into his shift on September 26, 1983, as the duty officer at Serpukhov-15, the secret command center outside Moscow used for monitoring Soviet military satellites over the United States. Suddenly the alarms went off, warning that five Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles had been launched from an American base.
He recalled the few moments it took to realize what was happening.
“For 15 seconds, we were in a state of shock,” he said. “We needed to understand, ‘What’s next?'”
His decision would change the course of history.
The Early Life Of Stanislav Petrov
Nikolai Ignatiev/Alamy Stock Photo
A young Petrov in his military attire.
Born on September 8, 1939 in Vladivostok, USSR, Stanislav Petrov was raised to follow in his father’s footsteps. After graduating from the Kiev Military Aviation Engineering Academy of the Soviet Air Forces, Petrov pursued a career in the Soviet Air Defence Forces, serving as a lieutenant colonel between 1972–1984.
His roles included monitoring the new early warning system that detected ballistic missile attacks from enemy countries, including the United States.
Petrov served in the Soviet Air Defense Forces during one of the tensest periods in the Cold War. In 1983, President Reagan had refused to freeze the arms race. The Soviet Union had been declared an “evil empire,” and their leader, Yuri Andropov, was constantly afraid of an attack by the Americans.
So, when Petrov received the signal that missiles were inbound to the USSR on September 26, 1983, he froze. He thought of his wife, Raisa, and his children, Dimitri and Yelena.
It was standard protocol to report these warnings to his superiors, who would then report to Andropov, regarding retaliation. He had to decide whether to report these missiles to his superiors and risk setting off an irreversible chain reaction.
And so he decided.
The Fateful Decision In Light Of A Possible Nuclear Attack
Robert Wallis/ Getty ImagesControl room at nuclear missile base outside of Moscow, similar to the base Petrov would have served in.
Staring at the warning signals, Petrov weighed the decision to report them to his supervisors. Outwardly, he was calm, but a battle was raging inside him.
Those who have studied him and his role in the event attribute Petrov’s calm demeanor to the prevention of what could have been a catastrophe. Though the computers had insisted that the threat was at the highest level possible, Petrov remained calm.
“There were 28 or 29 security levels. After the target was identified, it had to pass all of those ‘checkpoints’. I was not quite sure it was possible, under those circumstances,” Petrov explained to the BBC, detailing the beginning of his skepticism.
In the end, Petrov ultimately decided against affirmative action, though the threat was potentially imminent. The estimate allowed that once a missile was launched, there were only 25 minutes until detonation.
“There was no rule about how long we were allowed to think before we reported a strike,” he told the BBC. “But we knew that every second of procrastination took away valuable time, that the Soviet Union’s military and political leadership needed to be informed without delay. All I had to do was to reach for the phone; to raise the direct line to our top commanders — but I couldn’t move. I felt like I was sitting on a hot frying pan.”
Though he decided against reporting the missiles, he did report the alert as a system malfunction.
“I had a funny feeling in my gut,” he told The Washington Post. “I didn’t want to make a mistake. I made a decision, and that was it. Twenty-three minutes later I realized that nothing had happened. If there had been a real strike, then I would already know about it. It was such a relief.”
The Aftermath Of Stanislav Petrov’s Brave Decision
Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0Petrov in 2016, shortly before his death.
When reporters later asked him why he felt like the report was an error, Stanislav Petrov admitted that he believed American’s start to a war would have been more intense.
“When people start a war, they don’t start it with only five missiles,” he said. However, even 30 years after the event, Petrov maintained that he was never completely sure that the warnings were malfunctions. In the end, he just relied on his gut feeling.
Ultimately, Petrov’s theory of a system malfunction was confirmed. The system had originally been manufactured more quickly than intended, due to the United States introducing a similar product. This is why, Petrov said, he felt like he couldn’t trust it.
Additionally, satellite radar operators told Petrov that night that they had not detected any missile launches, further confirming his suspicions.
Stanislav Petrov did not speak a word about the event for the next ten years, even after being reassigned to a less sensitive position and leaving the military. It was only after the Soviet Union fell that he gave interviews and publicized his experience.
“I thought it was shameful for the Soviet army that our system failed in this way,” he told the BBC about why he kept silent for so long.
In 2004, Petrov received the World Citizen Award. Then, in 2006, Petrov was awarded at the United Nations with yet another World Citizen Award. He even collaborated with Danish filmmakers to produce a documentary about his life titled The Man Who Saved the World. Then, he received a German Media Award and Dresden Peace Prize in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
dpa picture alliance archive/Alamy Stock PhotoRetired Stanislav Petrov poses after receiving the German Media Prize 2011.
Though the act brought him fame, Stanislav Petrov maintained that he didn’t deserve the spotlight. During an interview for the film, he mentioned that it could have been anyone in his place.
“I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said.
Juliet Butler/Alamy Stock PhotoStanislav Petrov outside his apartment building in Fryazino, Moscow with his son Dimitri and their family dog.
Colonel Stanislav Petrov died at age 77 in Fryazino, Moscow in May 2017. He was living with his son, Dimitri. Dimitri, who works as a political activist, recalled his reaction to his father’s actions in 1983.
“Of course, I was overcome by horror at what could have happened,” Dimitri told RadioFreeEurope. “I was of course extremely surprised to learn what happened, and that he was silent about it. Obviously, he couldn’t say anything about it…at that moment when the world literally was hanging by a strand of hair.”
Dimitri was responsible for sharing the news of his father’s passing. Like Petrov, Dimitri was reserved and humble about his father’s decisions that day.
“He was doing his work and he never considered himself was a hero, he was simply doing his job. That’s all.”
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