Soviet Air Defence Forces lieutenant colonel who correctly dismissed the Oko false alarm and prevented nuclear war
The siren howled, but I just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the big, back-lit, red screen with the word 'launch' on it.
A Soviet Air Defence Forces lieutenant colonel. On 26 September 1983, while on duty at the Serpukhov-15 early-warning command centre, the Oko satellite system reported five US ICBMs had been launched, but Petrov judged that a first strike would involve hundreds of missiles, not five, and ground radar showed no confirmation, so he reported a system malfunction rather than an incoming attack. His decision prevented what could have become a Soviet retaliatory nuclear strike and earned him the title 'the man who saved the world.' He received neither disgrace nor reward for his actions, retired early in 1984, and lived in obscurity in a Moscow suburb until his death from pneumonia in 2017.
Career Timeline
- 1957Entered Kiev Radio-Technical School of the Air Defence Forces
- 1957–1967Served in Air Defence Forces, radar system maintenance
- 1967–1972Studied at Kiev Higher Engineering Radio-Technical College
- 1973Assigned to Serpukhov-15 early-warning command centre
- 1983.09.26Dismissed Oko false alarm, prevented retaliatory nuclear strike
- 1984Retired as lieutenant colonel
- 1984–1990sWorked at the institute that developed the early-warning system