The specter of a nuclear war has been hanging over mankind since 1945, when with the end of World War II we saw the destructive power of nuclear warheads. There have been times when the final doom literally lacked one decision!
Fortunately, it turns out that human morality and awareness of the dangers of nuclear confrontation play a key role here. An example confirming such a statement may be the figure of Colonel Stanisław Petrov.
It was September 26, 1983. He, Petrov, was on duty in the Serpukhov-15 bunker, where the center of the Soviet early warning system "Oko" was located. He certainly hadn't expected that on that day he would see an alarming message on the screen and that the interior of the military sanctuary would be filled with the ominous noise of warning sirens. According to the system's indications, the Americans have just launched a nuclear missile ...
Reason prevails
Petrov could have panicked, he could have given the order to start a counterattack at that moment. This, of course, would result in the actual unleashing of a nuclear war, and therefore most likely the complete destruction of human civilization. The colonel, however, kept his composure, instructing the bunker crew to remain in their positions. Panic was the worst solution in this situation.
But something was wrong:the "Eye" system detected the launch of only one missile . Petrov quite rightly thought that such a move would be pointless according to the MAD doctrine (Mutual Assured Destruction). If the opponent wanted to actually launch an attack, the strike would be carried out on all strategic targets simultaneously. Consequently, the sober soldier concluded that the system was clearly malfunctioning.
Moments later, his strong will was tested a second time. "Oko" showed another four missiles fired from American territory. Petrov faced a tragic choice :to definitely confirm the impending attack, we had to wait until the missiles were in the range of ground radars - which is far too close to the target to react. On the other hand, a report of aggression to the command staff would be associated with a counterattack ... and war. America would have to respond to missiles launched from Russia, and then both countries (as well as the rest of the Earth's surface) would only be left with a radioactive wasteland.
It is difficult to imagine how difficult a decision Petrov had before him. Just knowing that the fate of the world rests in his hands must have been overwhelming. Fortunately, it happened to him:he decided not to submit a report, considering the indications of "Oka" to be a mistake. He was right!
Photo from the G7 summit in 1983. The politicians responsible for conducting the Able Archer 83 exercises are present:Helmut Kohl third from the left, François Mitterrand fourth, Ronald Reagan fifth, Margaret Thatcher seventh
Where does this confusion come from?
To better understand the desperate situation of the Russian colonel, it is necessary to realize the scale of the tension between America and the Soviet Union. While Petrov was on guard, NATO was carrying out maneuvers codenamed "Able Archer". Extensive testing of the procedures for launching nuclear weapons put the entire world on standby. Radio silence and simulation of nuclear alarms were introduced, which looked realistic enough for the Soviet Union to believe that a confrontation could actually take place. Ronald Reagan was accused of preparing for war. At the same time, the radar systems of that time were very imperfect, they did not allow for a thorough examination of the nature of objects moving in the air. This made me even more uncertain.
However, it soon turned out that the erroneous indications of "Oka" were caused by a coincidence that the system designers did not foresee. The sun's light simply reflected off the cloud layer above the United States, giving incorrect readings to the satellite. Such a simple thing could be our destruction…
Petrov gets the ears
World War III, as is known, did not happen. But Colonel Petrov did not receive the due credit for keeping a cool head - instead he was struck by thunder for… inaccurate keeping of a log of events. Later, he was efficiently removed from the stage and the world forgot about him. Why?
Until recently, the elite of the Soviet military and arms industry was throbbing in the glory for creating the "Eye", and meanwhile - their device turned out to be faulty, which almost did not lead to a war! C worse, the "ordinary" colonel easily recognized that the system's indications were wrong. If he were awarded, it would also be a reprimand for the higher-ranking people ... And that, of course, could not have happened.
Stanisław Pietrow, Dresden 2013, receipt of the "Dresden-Preis" award
Petrov himself lived to be almost completely forgotten. The world remembered his achievement only after the publication of the memoirs of General Yuri Votintsev in 1998. The colonel was found and questioned about events from years ago, which he reluctantly told. In recognition of his merits, he has received numerous awards, including the World Citizen Award, the United Nations Award, the German Media Award and the "Dresden-Preis" peace award. Sam has always argued that he was neither a hero because he was simply doing his duty. In a 2013 interview, he admitted that he was not entirely sure until the very end that the "Oka" alarm was in fact false. At the same time, the situation of 1983 was considered the moment we were closest to nuclear war in history. Petrov died in 2017 at the age of 77.