Obituaries

New York Times: Stanislav Petrov, Soviet Officer Who Helped Avert Nuclear War, Is Dead at 77. “After five nerve-racking minutes — electronic maps and screens were flashing as he held a phone in one hand and an intercom in the other, trying to absorb streams of incoming information — Colonel Petrov decided that the launch reports were probably a false alarm.”

The Washington Post: Stanislav Petrov, Soviet officer credited with averting nuclear war, dies at 77. ““I had a funny feeling in my gut,“ Col. Petrov told The Washington Post in 1999. “I didn’t want to make a mistake. I made a decision, and that was it.“ He celebrated with half a liter of vodka, fell into a sleep that lasted 28 hours and went back to work.”

BBC News: Stanislav Petrov, who averted possible nuclear war, dies at 77. “A former Soviet military officer credited with averting a possible nuclear disaster at the peak of the Cold War has died at the age of 77.”