# The man who prevented WWIII



## Brian G Turner (Jan 18, 2006)

Interesting article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov



> Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov (born c. 1939) is a retired Russian Army colonel who, on September 26, 1983, averted a potential nuclear war by refusing to accept that the United States had launched missiles against the USSR, despite the indications given by his computerized early warning systems. The Soviet computer reports were later shown to have been in error, and Petrov is credited with preventing World War III and the devastation of much of the Earth by nuclear weapons. Because of military secrecy and international policy, Petrov's actions were kept secret until 1998.


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## Adasunshine (Jan 18, 2006)

You know it scares me, just one man to decide whether or not we have war on our hands...

Too scary for words but Hallelujah! for Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov!

Just goes to show how much they _really _tell us...

xx


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## kyektulu (Jan 18, 2006)

*He sounds like a good man, I must admit I am very relieved he made the decision he did.
It is very disturbing that such enourmous, world changing judgements are made by a single individual.
It shows just how important it is that the right person for the right job is.
*


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## Omega (Jan 18, 2006)

But think if we let a computer decide without any human intervention, then the computer would have most probably launched the missiles, as it wouldn't be able to determine what it was seeing was a false alarm.


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## littlemissattitude (Jan 22, 2006)

Anybody here ever see _Wargames_?


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## Omega (Jan 22, 2006)

littlemissattitude said:
			
		

> Anybody here ever see _Wargames_?



Yes.


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## Stalker (Mar 3, 2006)

When I was a young Soviet pioneer (Soviet scout organisation) I often read terrible postfactum news in the Soviet newspapers about mafunctions of computers of American strategic targeting system putting the world on the edge of Nuclear Holocaust and anaylses of the analysts saying that those fooish Americans reied too mush on computers and that migh one day end up with missies starting to bring death to the whole world...
That is an opposite example...


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## Lacedaemonian (Mar 3, 2006)

Nothing a game of naughts and crosses wouldn't resolve.


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## Lissa (Mar 3, 2006)

Just goes to show us that we do have good and intelligent people in the right place at the right time (sometimes).


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## Esioul (Mar 3, 2006)

How do they know this man prevented WWIII? It is kind of scary though to think how close we could have been to WWIII.


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## Gope (May 1, 2006)

Einstein was said that the 3th WW will be with rocks and pickets...


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## weaveworld (May 1, 2006)

*Einstein also said....

'Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding'

Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov sounds like someone with sense and frankly a conscience.

Great topic Brian

*


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## Alia (May 1, 2006)

Lacedaemonian said:
			
		

> Nothing a game of naughts and crosses wouldn't resolve.


You scare me, lace.  



> You know it scares me, just one man to decide whether or not we have war on our hands...
> 
> Too scary for words but Hallelujah! for Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov!
> 
> Just goes to show how much they _really _tell us...


I agree with you Adasunshine.


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## YOSSARIAN (May 4, 2006)

This scenario happened several times in the U.S. as well.  I don't have the dates and other info at hand, but computer errors caused NORAD to believe that the USSR had launched nuclear attacks within U.S. borders.  At least one of these events nearly caused a retalitory strike.  The others were recognized as erroneous fairly quickly.


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## GOLLUM (May 5, 2006)

Lacedaemonian said:
			
		

> Nothing a game of naughts and crosses wouldn't resolve.


HE HE..right on Dr. Falken....


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## cornelius (May 5, 2006)

Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov ... the man did great, but he's not the only one, far from it. it's hard to tell how many times we were on the verge of wwIII, since there are also many false stories . It is good to show that at least one man looked a bit ahead. I hope that similar decisions will be made in future events.


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## electricdragon (Aug 23, 2006)

WWIII......with nucluers......stopped by.....Stanislav Evgrafovich Petrov......
Tell me does he have a relative living in Iran with that same position...we may need him again in the near future


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## Jaggy Jai (Oct 16, 2006)

Its common working class heroes like the one mentioned that are overlooked by society and subsequently by history.
                    When we think, and learn, about the Cuban missile crisis we are lead astray by the notion that it was down to the US and Kennedy that war was averted......we often neglect men such as Kruschev.....


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## SpaceShip (Nov 9, 2006)

Nostradamus gave us many clues as to what would or would not happen in the future - wonder if SEP knew of them, thus keeping his finger off the button!  Wonder if there are other prophesies or predictions by others as to how WWIII will start/continue/end!


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## mosaix (Nov 28, 2006)

SpaceShip said:


> Wonder if there are other prophesies or predictions by others as to how WWIII will start/continue/end!



Probably millions and one of them will be correct and all the others wrong. But, as will all predicitions the correct one will be quoted and all the others covieniently forgotten.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Nov 28, 2006)

Mr. Petrov you have our deepest respect. Now, if only we could somehow get rid of the damned monstrous things before the laws of probability turn against our survival . . . .


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## dwndrgn (Nov 29, 2006)

Shall we play a game?

Actually, this reminds me of something I read a long time ago so I don't know for sure where it was, but it had to do with time travel.  In any case, the theory was that tiny little decisions can cause huge consequences.  A modern day example, John Doe just gets fired.  He's got no money and no leads on another job.  After leaving the unemployment office on his way to an interview for a job paying very little money, frustrated, he gets accidentally bumped by a passerby who had dropped her keys.  This sets off a string of angry thoughts in John Doe, why isn't life fair?  Why me?  His anger becomes his only outlet.  He strikes the woman who bumped him.  Now he's angry at the world and himself.  His bad attitude colors his interview and he doesn't get that job either.  Out of time and choices, he decides to rob the corner market, caught by the market manager, he goes to jail.  Now, if Jane Doe (the passerby) had parked on the other side of the street, she wouldn't have been there.  Does that mean that John Doe will wander off out of the unemployment office and get his low-paying job and somehow move on?  Or will something else set off that anger?


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## Paige Turner (Nov 29, 2006)

SpaceShip said:


> Nostradamus gave us many clues as to what would or would not happen in the future…



I thought Nostradamus only predicted the _past._ Isn't it only _after _something happens that scholars reveal that the event was foretold by him? I've certainly never heard anyone say that something specific was going to happen, apart from things like "There will be tumult in the land with many people."

Sorry, not much of a believer, me.


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## mosaix (Nov 29, 2006)

Paige Turner said:


> I thought Nostradamus only predicted the _past._



Paige I *DO* like that. I will remember it and use it on every possible occasion.


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## MemmoN (Dec 31, 2006)

And to think Bill Gates beleives technology will save us.


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## Brian G Turner (Jul 22, 2017)

And here's a thread that deserves a bump, as it's a good story to know.


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## Harpo (Jul 22, 2017)

A quick look at his wikipedia page tells me that he was awarded the Dresden Prize in 2013, and that a documentary film was made called "The Man Who Saved The World"


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## Galactic Journey (Jul 25, 2017)

Autumn 1983 is probably the closest we ever came to war with the Soviets.  It was terrifying, particularly in retrospect.  

Of course, I may think differently after I cover the Cuban Missile Crisis in three months...


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## Brian G Turner (Sep 18, 2017)

Alas, it turns out Stanislav actually died back in May:
Soviet soldier credited with averting nuclear war dies


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