blah the Prussian Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 The vast majority of people on this forum, and people in general, probably don't know who Stanislav Petrov is. However, I can guarantee that we are only doing all we are doing because of him. In 1983, Petrov, in charge of the nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union, was ordered to fire said arsenal at the US when Soviet radar detected an American missile fired at the USSR. Petrov refused and demanded further investigation, reasoning that if the US wanted to attack they would have fired more than one missile. As it turned out, the Soviet radar was experiencing issues. Petrov, with his actions, saved perhaps more people than any other single human ever has in history. So, with his recent passing, I'd like to thank him for allowing us all to experience life and civilization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrymidfields Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 At first glance, I forgot what that name was, until you reminded us of who he was. Rest in peace indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acacia Sgt Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 Yep, to say it was a close call would be an understatement. From what I remember reading up, Petrov wasn't even supposed to be there that day. But he was replacing someone who called in sick or something like that. If that's true... well, that only makes it even more extraordinary, since then things might've gone differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DanMan Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 Welp. Talk about an awesome coincidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ping Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 6 hours ago, henrymidfields said: At first glance, I forgot what that name was, until you reminded us of who he was. Rest in peace indeed. Same here; I knew about the radar malfunction but couldn't remember the man's name. I think the event is somewhat well-known in Germany - newspapers would occasionally write about it, so I'm a bit surprised to learn about it here and not on my primary online news source. He was certainly not as famous as he would have deserved to be, even though iirc he merely thought of it as "doing his job" himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Glacies Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 I do remember reading about this somewhere, though I hadn't know his name. So, a great "THANK YOU!" to Mr. Petrov is indeed in order - it truly is strange how a single man can have such a significant impact on this world, whether by action or inaction. ... Though, he died on May 19th, did he not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acacia Sgt Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 24 minutes ago, Rex Glacies said: ... Though, he died on May 19th, did he not? He did. But it was only known around these days. Well, outside the place he was living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 I didn't know his name, but I knew of his story. It is really eerie that he has been dead for months, but media coverage only started today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezzy Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 RIP It sounds like a similar situation during the Cuban Missile Crisis, where two out of three commanders on a sub wanted to unleash their nukes when they lost contact with the rest of the navy and thought nuclear war had broken out, but were only prevented by the remaining commander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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