Stanislav Petrov - Dissident Comrade
10 Dissidents Who Changed the World: #2
Stanislav Petrov is not a household name. And yet, hundreds of millions of people may owe him their lives. Not only is it likely that Petrov prevented the start of World War III, but it’s also likely that he prevented nuclear Armageddon and the destruction of much of the Earth.
Petrov’s Career
Petrov was born in 1939, the son of a Soviet air force pilot. He earned top honors in school before joining the army and the Communist Party, and trained as a military engineer in Kiev.
More of a techie than a military type, in the 1970s Petrov got a job working on the Soviets’ first satellite early warning system — a very important, and secret, post.
The Night the World Almost Blew Up
By September 26, 1983, the Cold War between the USSR and the United States had reached its peak, and tensions were high.
On that night, Petrov was stationed at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow. His job was to observe the satellite early warning network for a nuclear attack against the Soviet Union. In the event of such an attack, the Soviet strategy was to launch an all-out counter-attack as soon as possible — before their own missile silos were obliterated.
Forty minutes past midnight, Moscow time, the alarms in the bunker went off. The computers interpreting data from a new satellite array known as Oko (The Eye) signaled an incoming missile.
Stanislav knew that the U.S. was unlikely to launch a single missile.
But shortly, the system reported another missile. And then another. In all, the system reported 5 Minuteman II nuclear missiles heading from the United States toward Moscow.
Nuclear Counter-Attack Procedures
Inside the bunker, 80 technicians and 40 military officers waited for Petrov to start the official procedure for just such an event: call his superiors and let them know they needed to order a counter-attack.
Petrov needed to act fast, too. Because the Soviet Union’s land radar could not detect missiles beyond the horizon, by the time the missiles could be confirmed it would be too late to set in motion a counter-attack.
So, if the missiles were real and Petrov didn’t respond, Russia was radioactive toast. And if the missiles weren’t real (and the system had been faulty before…) and Petrov informed his superiors, then Soviet missiles might obliterate the U.S., and the U.S. counter-attack might still obliterate the USSR.
While electronic maps and consoles flashed, another officer shouted at Petrov to remain calm and do his job.
But Petrov had a funny feeling in his gut. He’d often been told that a U.S. attack would be many times more massive than just five missiles. So, Petrov followed his intuition, resisted the official procedure, and told his superiors on the phone that the system’s warning was a false alarm.
After a long fifteen-minute wait, Petrov’s gut feeling proved to be correct.
Petrov Leaves the Military
After the ordeal, Petrov underwent intense questioning from his superiors who wanted to know why he hadn’t followed procedures. He was given a reprimand for not logging the night’s events in the correct format, and was reassigned to a less sensitive post.
In 1984, Petrov left the military. He moved to a technical division that worked on satellites, and then retired in 1993 to take care of his wife, who eventually died of a brain tumor.
Epilogue
The events of September 26, 1983, remained largely unknown until the former commander of the Soviet Air Defense’s Missile Defense Units, General Yury Votintsev, published his memoirs in the early 1990s.
In May 2004, the Association of World Citizens awarded Petrov its World Citizen Award, along with $1000.
In January 2006, the association honored Petrov with a second special World Citizen Award, presented at the United Nations in New York City. The following day, Petrov was interviewed by journalist Walter Cronkite.
Today, Petrov lives on a small pension in a small apartment in a Moscow suburb with his dog, Jack.
Go to the next article in this series:
Jesus of Nazareth - Dissident Teacher.
Go to the previous article in this series:
John Lennon - Dissident Beatle.
Go to the series index:
10 Dissidents Who Changed the World.
Read More: Stanislav Petrov, dissident, nuclear war
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May 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 am
I remember seeing a story about him on t.v. and was astounded to think we had come that close to nuclear war… and the public didn’t have a clue for years. Glad he made your list!
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
Glad to see that common sense prevailed over knee jerk reaction. No chicken little syndrome, about the sky falling on this one.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:03 am
Excellent post…some of history’s greatest heroes are common people who do extraordinary things, under fantastic pressure.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:06 am
Interesting story. Especially interesting that it follows on the heals of “ring of truth’s” comments…which by his standards he would believe Petrov to be a “kook”. Thank god for kooks who know how to supplement the printed word.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
That was so cool! Trusting the gut and keeping a cool head saves millions. I’m digging the dissident series.
May 22nd, 2007 at 4:09 pm
I forgot to mention that it turned out the origin of the errant satellite data turned out to be reflections off high-altitude clouds above U.S. Minuteman II silos in Montana…reflections that nearly identically matched the exhaust signatures of launched missiles. Supposedly the bug has since been fixed ;-)
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 am
OT but have you read this?
With scarcely a mention in the mainstream media, President Bush has ordered up a plan for responding to a catastrophic attack.
In a new National Security Presidential Directive, Bush lays out his plans for dealing with a “catastrophic emergency.”
Under that plan, he entrusts himself with leading the entire federal government, not just the Executive Branch. And he gives himself the responsibility “for ensuring constitutional government.”
He laid this all out in a document entitled “National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51″ and “Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20.”
The White House released it on May 9.
May 23rd, 2007 at 6:24 am
Taking more plays right out of Hitler’s playbook, is he? Jeez, that’s just pretty scary. Well, I predict a catastrophic emergency, and as has been demonstrated…we can’t trust Bush & Co. when they entrust themselves.
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:14 am
Well, he has been “sorting” for the right “Gonzobot” generals for a long time now. He has also been actively rounding up eco-terrorists, old black panther party types (sf 8) and generally trying to label any dissent he can as terrorist. If you watched the repub debates, and judging from the applause of the (handpicked?) audience, half the country supports torture…I mean enhanced interrogation techniques…which I think includes locking anyone away without telling anyone.
This is the guy who labels those who don’t support the troops…terrorists. Logically, he would have to label himself as such, since he is the commander in chief who also has ultimate responsible for supporting the troops at walter reed. He can’t handle a bunch of amputees, but he can rule the world.
Lets hope if the scenario really does follow nazi history that a nice nuremburg trial is in his future. Yikes, I wonder who will invade us and set us free?
August 8th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
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