WASHINGTON (Transatlantic Today) – Stanislav Petrov was a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defence Forces. He lived an accomplished life and made himself very remarkable in history. However, on 26th September 1983, things changed due to unforeseen situations. He saved the world and the lives of millions from a nuclear Armageddon.
Stanislav was working in a Soviet Union control center, a warning system gave him a big indication. He found out about a string of American nuclear missiles. According to the orders coming in from the officials, he decided not to go for a counterstrike. Instead, he waited and finally realized that it was a false alarm due to an error. If you are wondering how Stanislav Petrov saved the world, we have the entire story here.
Stanislav Petrov & His Story Stands Out In The History
You will not be surprised to know that Stanislav’s story stands out in the history of close nuclear calls. No doubt it is terrifying but due to his patience, everything fell into place. Even though he did reach for the phone to inform about the alarm, he thought to wait for some time. The scale of disaster due to nuclear weapons can be very huge. Due to his heroism and patience, he averted a big tragedy. His name is celebrated in the history even after his death in 2017.
Since World War Two the threat of war never went out of anyone’s mind. The global stage didn’t forget to think about the consequences everyone had to face. Many moments during the Cold War indeed stand out as very dangerous and scary. The United States has always been in a lot of power but other countries had to look at the situation more than before.
The Soviet military is always working hard in protecting their country to the fullest. During the Cuban Missile Crisis as tensions were boiling out at their peak. The computer glitch at the North American Aerospace Defense Command was about to trigger a much bigger tragedy. The hot frying pan that could happen due to US nuclear war retaliation was instantly stopped in 1979.
The Threat Of Armageddon
In many ways, these calls regarding the NORAD glitch are more than terrifying. It may give a wrong impression due to a computer error. The unlikely set of coincidences could make the world go into a plunge of nuclear Armageddon. At one point we may convince ourselves that leaders shouldn’t act so rashly.
You cannot be confident because sometimes a random error can trigger a bigger strategy. It can lead to an accidental nuclear without any delay. The story of Stanislav Petrov is very inspiring for everyone as he didn’t raise the direct line.
On September 1983, LT. Col Stanislav Petrov from the Soviet Air Defence forces took a big action. When he checked his screen and checked out the error message things could go out of control. The word ‘Launch on the screen couldn’t push him to take an action.
The missile attack and the warning system was telling him a new story. Anyone could have believed that the American intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is about to launch. Similarly, his training was clear-cut at this point. According to the Soviet Union and its nuclear policy, he should have taken immediate action.
Destruction That Could Be Mutually Assured
Petrov could easily realize the intensity of the situation. Being a colonel in the Soviet, he already knew that Soviet Protocol will demand quicker action in this scenario. Traditionally everything was based on early warning systems. According to the information five different US missiles were making their way into Russia. Apart from that the information from MAD doctrine revealed Russia is even compelled to launch a bigger missile. The siren howled but the tragedy was fortunately stopped and saved from nuclear attacks.
No matter what, Stanislav was professionally required to take a phone to raise more concerns about this situation. However, he couldn’t convince himself to take an action right away. Talking about this heart-stopping and thrilling incident he revealed to BBC:
“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.”
The stakes during this period have been sky-high. He could not be blamed for what he did and how he solved this unfortunate incident. There is no doubt the Soviet-US relationship was deteriorating during the tenure of President Reagan. The situation went as extreme as Kremlin was bracing itself for another nuclear strike.
