‘Gut instinct’ told Lt Col Stanislav Petrov that apparent launch of US missiles was actually early warning system malfunctionA Soviet officer whose cool head and quick thinking saved the world from nuclear war has died aged 77. Ronald Reagan had recently called the Soviet Union the “evil empire,” and Yuri Andropov, the ailing Soviet leader, was convinced the Americans were plotting a surprise nuclear attack. Petrov was never honoured by the Soviet authorities for his role in saving the world from thermonuclear conflict. He was honoured by the Association of World Citizens at the UN headquarters in 2006 as “the man who averted a nuclear war”. The son of a second world war fighter pilot, Petrov was born in Vladivostok on 9 September 1939.

Source: The Guardian September 18, 2017 15:24 UTC