"We've never been as close to a nuclear war; neither before, nor later on."
-Stanislav Petrov: TV Novosti [10]
A Nuclear War Averted
During one of the highest points of tension of the Cold War, Stanislav Petrov successfully prevented nuclear war by reporting that several incoming nuclear missiles from the United States were a computed system error from the early warning satellite.
Princeton University: Bruce Blair [45]
"I think that this is the closest
we've come to accidental nuclear war."
-Bruce Blair: Military Wikia
(U.S. & Russian nuclear security expert) [11]
"We were ready for the Third World War. If the U.S. started it."
-Captain Viktor Tkachenko: Daily Mail (Past Soviet missile base commander) [37]
Nuclear War (National Geographic) [20]
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"We may have been on the brink of war and not known it." |
"At that time it was seen that [the Soviet Union] was surrounded by enemies but was strong enough to retaliate. The Soviet Union and the USA were too strong and both countries had too many conflicts of interest in various parts of the world."
-Vladimir Evseev: TV Novosti (Russian Military Analyst) [12]
"He is a man who has done more for mankind than most. Perhaps even more than any other person living today." |
Stanislav Petrov (TV Novosti) [21]
|
"Petrov should have been praised to the skies by a grateful world."
-Ian Thomas: Daily Mail [14]
The Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is on September 26 [45], the same day that Stanislav Petrov made his decision to defy protocol for the peace of the world. Although nuclear weapons have not yet been completely removed, the day still reminds the world of the dangers and effects these weapons may bring.
Ban Ki-Moon (Stanford News) [22]
"Let us pledge to work for the total elimination of nuclear weapons with urgency and a sense of collective purpose. Our very survival depends upon it."
-Ban Ki-Moon: United Nations.org (Secretary General of the United Nations) [15]
“[A]mong those nations like my own that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear, and pursue a world without them.” |
Barack Obama (RE: Obama) [23]
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