Stanislav Petrov

Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov was a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. This brilliant man saved mother Russia and the world from nuclear devastation in 1983, when he believed that a reported five US warheads heading straight for the USSR was a false alarm. Nuclear warheads of Russia's own were prepared for expected retaliation, and it was up to him to send the order for them to be fired. He decided against ordering the retaliation, reasoning that the US would send hundreds of nuclear missiles towards their position, rather than a few. He turned out to be correct, and made history in preventing the outbreak of nuclear war in 1983 on 26 September.