The Man Who Saved The World...Well, yes, he probably did!

 On a September night, over thirty years ago, most people in the world were completely unaware that one man had probably saved them from a nuclear war.
It came at the height of the cold war, when the USSR had recently shot down a South Korean passenger aircraft, carrying 269 people, after it had strayed into Soviet territory and both sides were on the alert for a nuclear attack.
The man is Stanislav Petrov and he was a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces. He was the duty officer that night at the command centre for the Oko nuclear early warning system, when the computer showed one, and then another four missiles being launched from the USA.
The protocol he had written himself stated that he had to inform the Commander in Chief ...but he waited .. he weighed up the probabilities and the terrible consequences, and sent the message that it was a system error.
What had happened?
Sunlight had been in a rare alignment with high-altitude clouds and the warning satellites' Molniya orbits. It had been a false alarm.
He probably prevented a retaliatory nuclear attack on the USA and its NATO allies that could have resulted in nuclear war.
In the 1990s, his actions became known internationally and he was later honoured with the UN world citizen and other awards in the USA and Germany.
 A  narrative feature and documentary film was made about the incident and about his life, including his trip to the USA , where he met Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro and Matt Damon who star in the film.
 He comes across as someone who loves, who is vulnerable, and above all, who thinks for himself.  Perhaps that is why he is "The Man Who Saved The World."
The film is the first to be shown at the Uranium Film Festival in Berlin, which is being held from  September 24th-30th.
There is a second film of the same event, in Russian and with English subtitles, and entitled "The Red Button." which is being shown on September 25th. This has already won a best feature film award at another Uranium Film Festival screening. It also discusses the repercussions of the event.
 The programme of all the varied films which will be shown at the festival makes compelling reading, even if you can't get to Berlin!  These are the films that governments would often rather you didn't see. They are by people who have looked at the problems caused by the nuclear industry from very different angles. Some of the films are lyrical and moving, some are startlingly factual; they all contribute to our awareness of the extent of the problems.
Incidentally, September 26th was the date 32 years ago when Stanislav Petrov made that decision... since then there have been  more close calls.
September 26th is also the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.  It can't come soon enough.


Other sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrovhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
  http://www.brightstarsound.com/