GHOSTBUSTERS CLUB WHO'S WHO 7
1983 SOVIET COLONEL REFUSED TO PUSH THE NUCLEAR BUTTON
For saving the world from nuclear obliteration San Francisco-based Association of World Citizens, a United Nations-recognized non-government organization, honored a little-known retired Soviet colonel living out his meager retirement outside Moscow with its World Citizen Award. Sep 26, 1983 Col Stanislav Petrov, in charge of 200 men, was duty officer at Serpukhov-15, USSR's main nuclear command and control center, when its satellite-based early-detection system warned of the launch of 5 U S ICBMs. A large red button flashing "START" in Russian, along with flashing lights and a loud Klaxon, told him to push the button that would begin a sequence launching a massive nuclear counterattack. Pressure on him was enormous, scarring him for life. Petrov decided it was a false alarm. Tensions with the U S were high but he figured a nuclear war would begin with an all-out attack, not 5 missiles. He didn't alert his superiors because they might order him to push the button and set off a nuclear holocaust. Soviet satellites mistook a cloud for a missile launch out of North Dakota. Petrov, at first praised for his calm judgment, later came under intense scrutiny but was neither punished nor rewarded. Major news organizations interviewed the old colonel, who drank a half-bottle of vodka "like it was one glass" after the harrowing incident. Until now he has not received a single formal recognition for possibly saving civilization. In the editorial offices of the liberal Russian-English newspaper Moscow News (Moskovskije Novosti) he received the World Citizen Award and a financial gift from grateful people worldwide. Although the incident remains a state secret in Russia, U S officials conclude that Petrov's story is highly credible. Soviet and Russian governments never challenged it. Previous award recipients include Jesse Jackson and Robert Muller, former U N Assistant-Secretary-General and founder of the University for Peace.