On September 26, 1983, the world was about to be hit by a nuclear war that could destroy humanity. Luckily there was this man who alone was able to save the Earth from the catastrophe of this all-powerful weapon.
The story of Stanislav Petrov is indeed heroic. That day, he served at the Soviet Union's nuclear command center and supervised the computer system that issued early warnings in the event of a nuclear attack.
Suddenly, the system warns that a missile has been launched from the United States towards the Soviet Union. Not just once the alarm sounded, up to five times. Petrov was one of the last people to decide whether the warning was accurate and the Soviet Union needed to retaliate.
"I have all the data that there was a missile attack. If I sent a report to the commander, no one would dispute it," Petrov was quoted as saying by the BBC.
"All I need to do is pick up the phone, call our top commander. But I can't move. I'm sitting on a hot frying board," Petrov called again.
Despite his thoughts, Petrov had to make a decision. The doctrine of the Soviet Union at that time was, if the US attacked, they would retaliate with full nuclear force. The potential for attack from the US was strong, because the US president, Ronald Reagan, was tough on the Soviet Union.
But Petrov was not reactive. After analyzing, he suspected that an early warning alarm had gone wrong. Although not one hundred percent sure, Petrov then reported the possible damage instead of a request to launch a retaliatory nuclear.
Petrov's decision at that crucial moment turned out to be the right one. The Soviet Union's investigation later found that their satellite mistook the reflection of sunlight for an intercontinental missile engine, triggering the alarm.
Petrov is not a nuclear launch determinant, his rank is only Lieutenant Colonel. However, reports of an alarm error and not an actual attack make the chances of a retaliation much less likely. If Petrov had stated that there had been an attack and the frantic Soviet Union retaliated, it could have been a devastating nuclear war.
In the cold war era, the Soviet Union had 35,804 nukes and the United States slightly below it, 23,305 nukes. You can imagine what the consequences would be if war broke out between these two superpowers.
If the Soviet Union had attacked with a nuke, it is estimated that 35% to 77% of the US population would be killed. On the other hand, the Soviet Union would lose 20% to 40% of its citizens if it was hit by a nuke by the US. Not to mention the global impact will be felt because of radiation and other things.
Petrov was later known as The Man who Saved The World. He received high honors from various countries, although he did not consider himself a hero. Even his own wife did not know about his heroic actions.
"It was my job, I was just doing my job and I was the right person at the right time, that's all. My wife just didn't know," he said. Petrov died at the age of 77 in 2017.
AksiPetrov did raise various analyzes. There are those who argue that the Soviet Union would remain cautious despite the news of an attack by Petrov, because the stakes for nuclear war were enormous. But whatever, Petrov's decision was the right and brave one in the midst of such a tense atmosphere.