Thread: The Man who saved the World - is Lost

You could have read it yesterday.

https://teakdoor.com/famous-threads/2...ml#post3631129

Thanks David I knew the story but worth reviving for the open minded.

It was certainly not known when I was in the USSR

Спасибо

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

You could have read it yesterday.

https://teakdoor.com/famous-threads/2...ml#post3631129

Harry, I appreciate the thread reference but ...

Two things about Stanislav Petrov.

He wasn't famous ... his grandkids didn't even know what he did on that fatefull day.

HE AVERTED A (potential) NUCLEAR WAR BY HIS ACTIONS ... and not some background noise on the Idiot Box.

I just felt his story needed a platform above that of mainly Actors, aging rock band members and the occasional Human Rights advocate

I never heard of this story either, until it was on the BBC website this morning.

Very interesting.

Harry, I appreciate the thread reference but ...

Two things about Stanislav Petrov.

He wasn't famous ... his grandkids didn't even know what he did on that fatefull day.

HE AVERTED A (potential) NUCLEAR WAR BY HIS ACTIONS ... and not some background noise on the Idiot Box.

I just felt his story needed a platform above that of mainly Actors, aging rock band members and the occasional Human Rights advocate

In other words, you didn't fucking look, did you?

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

In other words, you didn't fucking look, did you?

Actually ... I always read your fine posts

But I looked, saw an image of some dude, looking fairly dishevelled, I didn't recognise and moved on.

The clue there being that 'I looked' ... but I didn't 'read'.

Men, well, I am, are visual creatures.


Fameous peoples stories are already told.

His story needed to be told.

IMHO

Today from the BBC:

Stanislav Petrov, who averted possible nuclear war, dies at 77

• 18 September 2017

Stanislav Petrov:

''I knew perfectly well that nobody would be able to correct my mistake if I had made one''A former Soviet military officer credited with averting a possible nuclear disaster at the peak of the Cold War has died at the age of 77.

Stanislav Petrov was on duty at a Russian nuclear early warning centre in 1983 when computers wrongly detected incoming missiles from the US.

He took the decision that they were a false alarm and did not report them to his superiors.
His actions, which came to light years later, possibly prevented nuclear war.

Petrov died at his home in Moscow in May but his death has only now been made public.
In an interview with the BBC in 2013, Petrov told how he had received computer readouts in the early hours of the morning of 26 September 1983 suggesting several US missiles had been launched.

"I had all the data [to suggest there was an ongoing missile attack]. If I had sent my report up the chain of command, nobody would have said a word against it," he said.

"All I had to do was to reach for the phone; to raise the direct line to our top commanders - but I couldn't move. I felt like I was sitting on a hot frying pan."

Although his training dictated he should contact the Soviet military immediately, Petrov instead called the duty officer at army headquarters and reported a system malfunction.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe Soviet Union and the US had huge nuclear arsenals trained on each other during the Cold WarIf he had been wrong, the first nuclear blasts would have happened minutes later.

"Twenty-three minutes later I realised that nothing had happened. If there had been a real strike, then I would already know about it. It was such a relief," he recalled.

A later investigation concluded that Soviet satellites had mistakenly identified sunlight reflecting on clouds as the engines of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Petrov, who retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, died on 19 May but news of his passing became widely known only this month, thanks to a chance phone call.

German film-maker Karl Schumacher, who first brought Petrov's story to an international audience, telephoned him to wish him a happy birthday on 7 September only to be informed by his son, Dmitry Petrov, that he had passed away.

Mr Schumacher announced the death online and it was eventually picked up by media outlets.


Stanislav Petrov, who averted possible nuclear war, dies at 77 - BBC News

One of the many unsung heroes. I have often pondered about a society where the less useful your contribution the higher the rewards and accolades.
RIP Stanislav Petrov.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

"We've never been as close to a nuclear war, neither before nor later on.

A bold claim.


Vasili Arkhipov was the third of three Submarine captains needed to turn the key and launch nuclear missiles at the US mainland. The other two had already committed, it was his decision, and despite the pressure and misinformation they had been given, he decided to wait until the situation was clearer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov

Pte Manning and Edward Snowden also heroes in exactly the same way.

What is scary is that these people who take the initiative could (and are in the cases of Snowden and Manning) be persecuted for saving humanity. This Russian guy coud have been executed for dereliction of duty.

Originally Posted by Luigi

A bold claim.


Vasili Arkhipov was the third of three Submarine captains needed to turn the key and launch nuclear missiles at the US mainland. The other two had already committed, it was his decision, and despite the pressure and misinformation they had been given, he decided to wait until the situation was clearer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov

FFS, from the link ... nuclear torpedos !!!

I also never knew that story.

Great find.

(Green Owed)

Originally Posted by David48atTD

FFS, from the link ... nuclear torpedos !!!

You know Lulu, likes to embellish.

Originally Posted by Luigi

A bold claim.


Vasili Arkhipov was the third of three Submarine captains needed to turn the key and launch nuclear missiles at the US mainland. The other two had already committed, it was his decision, and despite the pressure and misinformation they had been given, he decided to wait until the situation was clearer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov

Luigi,

thank you for this.

I've never heard of this as well.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

You could have read it yesterday.

https://teakdoor.com/famous-threads/2...ml#post3631129

I read it already on 17th here: (and BBC and The Guardian either)
'I was just doing my job': Soviet officer who averted nuclear war dies at age 77

https://www.rt.com/news/403625-nucle...-officer-died/
Published time: 17 Sep, 2017 19:01Edited time: 19 Sep, 2017 14:16

^^ watch the movie 13 Days, a very good movie considering it's got fookin Kevin Costner in it. Well worth a watch.

Apologies, might have been another movie that covered it. Might remember after another jug of coffee.

K19: Widowmaker is the (average) movie that covers it.

Originally Posted by Luigi

And give that man another medal (or three) !

This is blasphemy, I was always taught that it was our Lord and saviour Jesus who saved the world.
Not a mere mortal atheist Russian proliteriate.
Blasphemy.

Da Torpedos are locked away

One of the take-outs for the Story for me is that he obviously was never regaled in the former USSR as a hero of any degree.

Just look at his crappy apartment (assuming it's his in the photo).
---

As an aside, I was explaining to my Thai Partner the shooting down of the Korean Airliner by the Ruskies, the Cuban Missile Crisis,
and there was a perceivable depth of comprehension but ...

When I went on to explain 'Operation Unthinkable' being contemplated after WWII ... her eyes glazed over

If you have never heard of Operation Unthinkable, it's worth the 5 min read of the WIKI link above.

I knew of the plan/concept, but didn't, until now, know it's name.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

I have often pondered about a society where the less useful your contribution the higher the rewards and accolades.

Same here...



Former Nobel chief: Obama Peace Prize a failure
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...idea/72396794/

Lulu's tame mod has saved him.

...and we still haven't a clue.