A Russian air force colonel who saved the world from nuclear war has died at the age of 77.
Stanislav Petrov was in post on the night of September 26, 1983, at a time of particularly high threat levels. The Soviets had shot down a South Korean passenger plane and the Americans were known to be considering an attack.
Petrov was the man in charge of radar communications when the computers showed that the United States had launched a bevvy of missiles at the Soviet Union.
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Petrov had the coolness of mind to realise that it was a false signal and thus did not retaliate, even though his fellow Soviet radar operators were panicking all around him.
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"When I first saw the alert message, I got up from my chair. All my subordinates were confused, so I started shouting orders at them to avoid panic. I knew my decision would have a lot of consequences," Petrov said back in 2010 to Russia Today.
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"The siren went off for a second time. Giant blood-red letters appeared on our main screen, saying START. It said that four more missiles had been launched"
Though he was not expecting anything to happen, his instruments told him differently and he was suddenly faced with the fate of millions of people in his hands.
"My cosy armchair felt like a red-hot frying pan and my legs went limp. I felt like I couldn't even stand up. That's how nervous I was when I was taking this decision," said Petrov. "I'll admit it, I was scared. I knew the level of responsibility at my fingertips"
Petrov realised that the five missiles that appeared to be heading his way was way too small for a real attack and decided to ignore them.
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"My superiors were getting the blame and they did not want to recognize that anyone did any good, but instead chose to spread the blame."
Petrov, a native of the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, received no reward for his actions, which saved countless lives and averted certain nuclear war.
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The events of September 26 were covered up for national security reasons by the Soviet Union and were not known publicly until the mid-1990s. Even Stanislav's wife was unaware of what her husband had done when she died in 1997.
It was only the actions of a German journalist that brought Petrov to light. Karl Schumacher took Stanislav to Germany to tell his tale to the world.
Somewhat appropriately, Stanislav Petrov actually died back in May, but the quiet man's death failed to make any media input. It was only when Schumacher rang his friend to catch up that he was informed of his death and subsequently told the news that the unsung hero had passed away.
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