"That was my job. But they were lucky it was me on shift that night."
-Stanislav Petrov: BBC Interview [17]
Recognitions & Awards
San Francisco World Citizen Award, 2004 [24]
The story of the false alarm incident was kept secret until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Stanislav Petrov's decision to defy protocol that averted nuclear war was not praised by everyone, but he received several international awards after the incident was revealed.
Anti-War Dresden Award of Germany, 2013 [25]
The amount of recognition he received, however, was not nearly enough to cover his contribution to the world by preventing nuclear war.
Retirement & Life
Report on Stanislav Petrov by Tom Barton (TV Novosti) [26]
"Stanislav now lives a quiet life in this block of flats northeast of Moscow."
-Tom Barton: TV Novosti (Reporter on Stanislav Petrov) [18]
"Stanislav now lives a quiet life in this block of flats northeast of Moscow."
-Tom Barton: TV Novosti (Reporter on Stanislav Petrov) [18]
Stanislav Petrov in his home (Fryazino, Moscow region, Russia) [27]
Petrov remains quiet and humble about the incident even though he may have saved the world from a nuclear war.
"I was just doing my job, and I was in the right place at the right time, that's all. My wife did not know anything about the incident for 10 years."
-Stanislav Petrov: Telegraph Media Group
(Interview for documentary
"Red Button and the Man who Saved the World") [19]
There remains many unsung heroes like Petrov who have contributed greatly to the world but do not receive enough recognition; they may not have saved the world, but their names certainly deserve to be heard and remembered by others.
“I know you don’t regard yourself as a hero, Colonel, but, belatedly, on behalf of the people in Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, thank you for being on duty that night.”
-Dennis Murphy: Dateline NBC (National Emmy Award Winner-News Reporter) [48]